Effects of Magic
by SabreDae
Summary: The curse is broken, but more than ever Emma feels the effects of magic. A series of oneshots detailing Emma's encounters with the fairytale characters post-finale. Features Graham, Henry, Snow White, Prince James, Red, Cinderella, Rumplestiltskin, Baelfire, Pinocchio, Captain Hook, Blue Fairy, Grumpy, Nova, Jiminy, the Mad Hatter, Bluebeard and the Evil Queen so far.
1. Storming

**A/N: I originally wrote this intending to upload it as a standalone oneshot, but I'm thinking now I may turn this into a series of oneshots. If you'd like me to do so, let me know. I've written some other encounters for Emma to have after the breaking of the curse and i've got a few ideas that I could write, but I'd love your suggestions too. So be sure to review with what you'd like to see and I'll write it, of course giving you credit for the idea though. ;)**

**Disclaimer: Of course I am not Adam Horowitz or Edward Kitsis (despite how much I wish I was) and therefore, regrettably, nothing belongs to me. I only borrow the characters of OUAT and make them do my bidding.**

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The gale-force winds buffeting the building threatened to tear off the window shutters, rattling them constantly. In the back of her mind Emma knew that the images she was picturing of the wind ripping them off as if they were as light as feathers and shattering the window were highly unlikely, given that the purpose of the storm shutters was to prevent such eventualities, but that didn't stop her worrying.

"I should have gone home," she muttered to herself, pacing and looking up at the hole in the ceiling. Usually there was a steady drip of water, but as she looked she could see a number of rivulets dropping into the bucket below. They'd have to replace the bucket soon as the water was almost already to the brim.

"It'll be fine," he said. "The storm will be over in no time – it's always like that around here."

"You know telling me that these storms are common isn't exactly reassuring, Graham," Emma told him. "And I'm more worried about the Sheriff Department collapsing on us because _someone _never fixed the roof than the storm itself." She'd been nagging him to do something about the hole in the roof for weeks. It wasn't just that it was a danger, though that was a serious concern. No, Emma was annoyed about the hole in the roof because it was situated directly above her desk.

"Sorry, I'll do it tomorrow. Happy?"

"Oh, that'll do me a world of good! The rain will no longer drip onto my head when I'm working, but I won't be here to appreciate it because I'll already be dead!" Emma shouted over a roll of thunder.

"Would you quit with the melodrama?" Graham asked, leaning back on two of his chair legs in front of his desk. "We're not going to die."

"And you know that how, Graham? Since when can you tell the future? Is this some magical power you've forgotten to tell me about? You know I'm beginning to get really sick of everyone around here – Ruby keeps transforming into a frickin' werewolf, Regina and Mr Gold are using spell after spell in the town, August's turning from wood to man again and now you."

"At least take the hardhat off," he muttered.

"I need the hardhat!" she snapped.

"You're so cute when you're stressed," he commented in an off-hand way.

"Now's not the time," Emma told him impatiently, though despite her hostility towards him, she was glad to have Graham back. She didn't know how it happened. Just one day he had reappeared, standing on the doorstep of the house she still shared with Mary Marg-Snow (she had to remember to start using their real names), seeming very confused. Henry told her that it was the water from the Wishing Well they'd drunk after they went hiking – it supposedly had the power to return what was once lost after all – but Emma didn't know for sure.

"Well when is the time, Emma?! You've been avoiding me for weeks!"

"How have I been avoiding you? I'm standing in the same building as you right now! I wouldn't be trapped in this building in the middle of a storm if it weren't for you."

"I did try to tell you that there was a storm due and I can't help the fact that a tree fell right in front of the door, can I?"

"Well, I don't know, you're the Huntsman, Graham, you were raised in the forest. Surely you ought to be able to see these kinds of things coming." she told him pointedly.

"Is that the problem? That I'm not really Graham, I'm the Huntsman?"

"I told you. There _is _no problem! I haven't been avoiding you," she replied, beginning to get exasperated with his insistence.

"You know what I mean, Emma. You've barely said a word to me before today."

And it was true. Emma had been avoiding Graham. At every opportunity she took the case that would allow her to escape the Sheriff Department without Graham for a few hours. It wasn't Graham exactly, but she found it hard to get her head around the fact that he'd come back from the dead. She found it so hard to even make eye contact with him, afraid that she wouldn't see any signs of life in his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you're meant to be dead!"

"Thanks-"

"-Wait, you know that's not what I meant," Emma interrupted. "I'm glad you're back, I am. I just don't know how to deal with it, I mean you were dead – I grieved for you and now you're alive and you want me to just forget about it?"

"One of the many advantages of magic," Graham muttered sarcastically as a flash of lightning from outside lit up the room. It was beginning to literally form forks through the sky.

"Stop trying to make this funny! It's not funny. This is real life, Graham. You _died. _You were _dead_."

"Well what would you have me do? Do you want me to return to being dead? Shall I kill myself? Or I could go and see Regina or Rumplestiltkin – I'm sure either one of them would be happy to off me. But funnily enough, Emma, I don't think that's what you want. I wouldn't be here if that was what you wanted."

"What did you say?" she asked, her heart pounding.

"I think you heard me," he whispered.

Emma shook her head. She thought she'd heard what he'd said, but it was ridiculous, wasn't it? Once you were dead, you were dead. She had no idea how Graham came back, but it couldn't be anything to do with her, could it? She was just Emma. She didn't have magical powers like the rest of the fairytale characters.

Graham sighed. "I said I wouldn't be here if it wasn't what you wanted. If you hadn't drunk from the Wishing Well and missed me so much, Emma, I never would have come back."

"Now you're just being stupid," she mumbled, backing away slightly as he stood and walked around his desk, ending up in front of her.

"Stupid? Really? You think I'm being the stupid one?"

"Well, I-"

"-When are you going to stop talking?" he asked hypothetically.

"Hey-"

"-Emma!" he exclaimed, pushing away all pretences and capturing her lips with his own.

Shocked, Emma stood unresponsive.

Worried, Graham pulled away to search her eyes. The last time they'd kissed, she'd been just as keen as he was. What was different now? He hoped she hadn't found someone else.

"Emma?" he asked, damned uncertainty permeating his voice.

An echoing groan from outside filled the room. Wide eyed, Emma and Graham turned their eyes upwards towards the hole in the ceiling. A shadow fell over the hole.

"Oh crap," Emma mumbled.

"Get out of the way!"

Graham grabbed hold of Emma and pushed her away. Emma toppled away from her desk, falling onto the floor.

There was a reverberating crash as a tree collapsed onto the roof, cutting through the roof tiles like they were mere water.

The tree seemed to fill the room, barring Graham from view.

"Graham?" Emma called.

He groaned in response. "Emma? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "I bet you're glad I wore the hardhat now."

"Yep, that _was _the first thing on my mind."

"Where are you?" she asked, getting to her feet. Despite avoiding being squashed beneath the tree, she did bear a number of scratches from its many branches, some of which were scattered around her on the floor.

"Right here," he replied, waving an arm so she might see him lying beside the tree, his foot caught beneath it.

"Oh God, now what do we do?"

He struggled, trying to twist his foot this way and that, but he couldn't pull it out from under the tree. "You need to call for help, Emma."

Suddenly, the door flew open, admitting Nova into the building.

"How did you..?" Emma began, thinking about how the door had been blocked by the first fallen tree and then cutting herself off when she remembered that despite appearing a Nun, Nova was in fact a fairy.

"Did someone ask for help?" Nova asked.

"It's Graham," Emma answered. "He's trapped under the tree."

Nova smiled at Emma and pulled a piece of wood out of her sleeve. It didn't look like a magic wand, it looked like a twig torn off a tree, but as long as it worked, appearances didn't matter, Emma supposed.

A wave of the wand later, Graham was free, hobbling about the Sheriff's Office and cussing about the pain in his ankle. He didn't think there was anything broken, but it still hurt like hell.

"The rest of the town awaits. But the storm has passed," Nova told them both, before leaving. She couldn't help thinking that if she and the other fairies had their wings, things would be a whole lot quicker.

Emma had been busy preparing an icepack for him. As she entered the office and sat him down, she couldn't help being reminded of his care for her the night he'd died. She gently placed the towel containing the ice over his ankle, doing her best not to hurt him, but he still winced, just as she had when he'd dabbed at the cut Regina had given her.

"Thanks," Graham muttered.

She looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time since he'd kissed her only to find his staring at her intently. She gazed back, wanting to break the connection between them but finding herself unable to.

Graham was unaware of his hands reaching out to her and pulling her up to sit on his desk. The icepack lay on his leg forgotten. Graham's hands found her back and pulled her closer, she found she couldn't resist the temptation to reciprocate. She lowered her head, her hands resting on his chest, one of them covering his beating heart. The moment her lips touched his, he was on his feet, the pain in his leg forgotten. Her lips moved against his fervently and her fingers tangled themselves in his brown hair. Feeling his lips again was like finally taking in a breath of fresh air after surfacing from underwater. She felt like she'd been deprived for months, though couldn't remember feeling that way at the time.

Breathlessly, Graham pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, looking into her hazel eyes, and wondered how he'd ever lived without her. Just being around Emma Swan was…intoxicating. She had a way of enticing him not just with her eyes or her lips – the way she would move them – but with her personality too. Sometimes she was tough on him, but other times she was the loveliest person in the world. A person of such contrast was bound to captivate him.

"I love you, Emma," he murmured, pressing his lips against hers once more.

She couldn't say it yet, it was too early. The last time she'd fallen head over heels in love, it had ended in disaster. He'd left and she'd been stuck with being a single mother. But she knew she loved Graham too. Telling him that would just wait until another day.

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**A/N: I hope you liked this and I'd love to know what you thought. **

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**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**


	2. Reunion

**A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who read, reviewed, alerted and added this story to your favourites! I hope you like this chapter and I'd really appreciate any comments you may have on it. **

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"Henry?" Emma asked, a slight nervousness in her voice. "What do you know about purple fog?" In any other circumstance, it would have been odd for Emma, the mother, to be asking her son for answers; but out of everyone she knew, he knew the most about the curse.

"Well, in the book, when the Evil Queen enacted the curse, _black_ fog swallowed up the enchanted forest, so maybe it's something to do with magic…" he suggested, standing beside her and looking out the window as the fog seemed to dissipate.

"Magic in Storybrooke, huh? That can't mean anything good," Emma mumbled.

Henry silently agreed, shaking his head. But the fog that had descended upon Storybrooke, didn't appear to have done anything much. Now that it had cleared, Henry and Emma could see the town looked the same as always, as did the people.

Emma helped Henry back to his hospital bed, aware that after his near-death experience he needed his rest. She couldn't resist the urge to tuck the sheets in around him, though as soon as she finished, Henry wriggled around so much that she might as well not have bothered. The sight brought a smile to Emma's face. For the first time since Henry had entered her life, she actually felt like a mother.

The thought had no sooner entered her mind than she found herself looking at her own mother. People, mainly the hospital staff and other patients, had been gathered outside Henry's door ever since the curse had broken, wanting a chance to thank Emma and Henry, but it was a shock to suddenly see Mary Margaret and David staring at her in wonder.

In what felt like slow motion, they pushed open the door and slid inside, smiling shyly at their daughter.

But Emma was still finding it hard to believe that Henry hadn't been lying when he said that Mary Margaret, her roommate, was Snow White and David was Prince Charming, let alone when he'd revealed that Snow White and Prince Charming were her parents.

"Well this is exceedingly awkward," Emma muttered, more to herself than anybody else. Nobody knew what to do or say. Emma didn't feel she could acknowledge the parents she'd never met who happened to be the same age as her. But Snow and James wanted more than anything to greet their daughter, to pull her close and never let go. Though they could see the apprehension in Emma's face and, though it felt like it would kill them, they hung back, staying near the door.

"Hey grandma, grandpa," Henry said cheerfully, breaking the atmosphere.

"Hey Henry," Snow said softly. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

Henry grinned back at her, leaving Emma wondering how he didn't feel odd calling his teacher, grandma.

"Emma?" Snow asked hesitantly.

"Hi," Emma replied, feeling out of place.

"Are you…okay?" It seemed a ridiculous question to ask, how in the world could she be okay.

"Physically."

"And how about emotionally?" James asked, speaking for the first time. His throat was tight with emotion and he struggled to get the words out.

Emma simply shrugged. It had been one heck of a day. Whilst she had no physical injuries, she was exhausted from battling a dragon. And then on top of that, she felt emotionally and mentally drained. Because as if it wasn't enough that the son she'd only so recently been reunited with had died only to come back, she then broke the curse. The curse that she'd stoically refused to believe in for months. And the icing on the cake was that she was standing less than three feet away from her parents.

She'd spent years searching for them, only to find them in Storybrooke but not know it.

Before she knew it, Snow was right next to her, holding her and smoothing down her hair in a motherly gesture. A motherly gesture that Emma couldn't quite wrap her head around. Her arms remained by her sides, as she tried to figure out what to do.

She knew that not reciprocating would hurt her mother's feelings, but in Emma's head, Snow was still Mary Margaret, her friend and roommate. It would take a long time for her to get used to thinking of her as a mother. Perhaps it was easier to think of David as Prince James or her father as she hadn't been as close to him. But even then, she'd gone years without parents, believing they didn't want her.

"We've missed you so much," Snow whispered, seeming oblivious to Emma's frozen form. But that didn't mean Henry couldn't see it. He winced, hoping that against all odds Emma would react.

"Missed me?" Emma mumbled, half-confused and half-angry. After abandoning her in an unknown world, what right did they have to miss her?

"Of course we missed you," James answered, walking towards his family with a wide smile. It all seemed perfect. "We love you."

Nobody had ever told Emma they loved her. Not her many foster parents, not her various siblings and not even Henry's father. She's spent her entire life, as a result, believing that nobody _could _love her, that there was something wrong with her. After all, there had to have been a reason her parents hadn't wanted her, didn't there?

"But you gave me up," Emma told them, feeling vulnerable for the first time in many years. Seeing her parents for the first time seemed to have brought back all her childhood insecurities, despite the fact that she knew from Henry's storybook why they had had to send her through the wardrobe.

Snow drew away from Emma, resting her hands on the tops of her arms for a few moments to look her right in the eyes as she said, "It was the last thing we wanted, Emma. I wish we could have kept you, but we had to keep you safe. Do you think we wanted you to be stuck in the curse? And where would we be now if we'd kept you?"

"You only wanted me to escape the curse so that I could break it," Emma accused, twisting out of Snow's hands.

"No," Snow insisted, trying to reach out for her again, but Emma backed away and pushed past James, heading for the door.

"Mum!" Henry called out, sitting up and throwing off his sheets as if he was going to get out of bed and follow her.

"I'll see you later, Henry," Emma said over her shoulder, not yet feeling guilty over leaving her son.

"I think it's safe to say that couldn't have gone any worse," Snow muttered, wrapping her arms around her own torso and turning to look sadly at Charming.

"She'll come round," James promised, doing his best to speak with conviction but even he had his doubts. He wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed the top of her head, comforting her as best he could.

When they turned around, Henry was nowhere to be seen.

"What's happened to Henry?" Snow worried. Emma would be devastated if anything happened to him. Snow rushed out of the room and caught sight of the Blue Fairy, who said Henry got out of bed and followed his mother.

Henry climbed the hospital stairs, following the advice of the Blue Fairy that Emma would feel trapped inside the hospital and want fresh air. He also knew, however that she wouldn't want to go too far away. So he was heading to the roof. And that was where he found her, sitting on the edge, loud sobs shaking her body and the wind whipping up her hair. Silently he sat down beside her and leaned in until he was hugging her.

Not only was Emma reliving the memories of all her years searching for her parents and finding nothing, of being convinced that they didn't want her, she was feeling guilty for leaving Henry when he needed her. She didn't think anybody could understand, but Henry's simple act of hugging her was a comfort.

They were still sat that way when Snow and James happened upon them, again unsure how to proceed.

It surprised Emma when Henry spoke up.

"They were giving you your best shot," he said. "Just like you did with me."

"Really?"

Henry nodded. "I've read the book, I know."

"Come here, Kid," Emma said, shuffling further away from the edge of the roof and pulling Henry into her lap. "You're smart, you know that?"

Henry nodded and Emma half-laughed.

Snow and James both gave a sigh of relief and slowly approached.

"Emma?" James asked uncertainly.

She turned and gave them a hesitant smile. Henry moved, allowing her to get up. "Sorry for freaking out on you and all…"

"No, we took things a bit quickly I think," Snow said.

"It's just a bit overwhelming," Emma mumbled, thinking in particular about how odd it was going to be having parents who were the same age as her. She tried not to back away as Snow walked towards her and took her face in both her hands, wiping the tear tracks away.

"You look tired."

"I am," Emma admitted.

"Come on," James said. "I'll drive us home."

It felt odd to hear those words said. Despite living in Storybrooke for months, Emma hadn't really considered it home. She'd spent so long moving from place to place, never putting down roots, that she didn't think she'd ever had a home.

"Come on, Henry, you need to change out of this hospital gown before we can leave."

"Why don't you meet us at the car?" Snow suggested.

Emma nodded and let Henry drag her off.

As she helped him change and gather his things, he kept saying things like, "You did it! You broke the curse!" and "You found your parents, Mom!"

Emma couldn't help but smile and nod, though she knew it would be a long time before she fully accepted everything that had happened in Storybrooke.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," Henry answered.

"Then let's go."

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**A/N: I hope this wasn't too similar to anything else you might have read. I'd love to know what you thought so leave a review if you've got time. **

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

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**Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxxx  
**


	3. Huntsman

**A/N: Thanks so much to those of you who have read, reviewed and/or added this story to your alerts and favourites! It really means so much. I enjoy reading what you think and talking to you. And I'm super-glad that you've taken the time to tell me what you think. I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter. It corresponds with the first chapter so let me know what you think!  
**

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**Huntsman**

"Slow down a bit, Henry," Emma scolded lightly. "Or there'll be no pancakes left for Mary Margaret and David."

"Snow White and James," Henry reminded her.

"Whatever," Emma muttered, but she realised she had to make more of an effort to address people properly. It seemed to just come naturally to Henry, calling everyone their fairytale names, and every time he got to say one of them, he couldn't seem to help the wide smile that spread across his cheeks.

"When will they be back?"

"I don't know, Henry, they didn't say where they were going; just that they were going for a walk."

"I bet they went to the beach. It's where I'd go," Henry mused. "Or maybe they went to the troll bridge."

Emma raised her eyebrows, but said nothing as she pushed her stood away from the breakfast table and went to the fridge to refill her glass of juice. She was sure that Snow and James would end up having to tell Henry anyway. After not seeing their daughter grow up, they were determined to not miss a moment of Henry's childhood. They frequently came back to the small apartment the four of them shared with a bag containing 'just a little present' for Henry.

A few light raps on the front door were enough to startle both mother and son. Emma frowned, turning to look at Henry. He shrugged in response clearly thinking the exact same thing as her.

"Snow and James took their key…"

"So who's at the door?" Henry said, finishing Emma's train of thought.

"Henry,_ stay_ here."

"But-"

"-No buts," Emma interrupted firmly, her eyes not leaving his as she backed out of the room to the hall.

In the back of her mind she questioned whether it could be Regina. With bated breath, she turned the key in the lock, pulled on the door handle and opened it, not quite believing her eyes as she saw who was on the other side. Immediately, she shut the door again and turned to lean against it. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, breathing deeply.

_You're dreaming. You're going to wake up and this will all have been a dream. There's no way it can be real. You're just imagining it._

Just before she reached ten, the person stood on the doorstep announced, "I'm still here you know."

With renewed grit, Emma restarted her count to ten.

"He's not going anywhere," Henry suddenly said, making Emma jump as with her eyes closed she hadn't seen him enter the hall and she hadn't heard his small footsteps.

"God, Henry, don't do that!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Maybe you should just open the door though."

Reluctantly, Emma pushed herself away from the shut door and slowly opened it again. As soon as the gap was wide enough, she slid through before pulling the door shut behind her.

"Graham," she greeted curtly. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a shrug.

"Forgive me for being obvious, but the last time I saw you, you were being lowered into the ground…"

"Right," Graham nodded. "The whole 'dead' thing." An awkward silence settled for a few moments before he spoke again. "So did you go to my, erm, funeral?"

"Yeah, I did."

"What was it like?" Graham asked, sounding curious.

"It was…good, I guess," Emma answered, struggling for words as she thought about the funeral. "The whole town turned up to say goodbye." She remembered standing around the coffin with the rest of the town, Mary Margaret at her side, both of them trying – and failing – to hold back tears. Henry had looked at her in sympathy from the other side of the hole in the ground where he stood with Regina, both of them dressed smartly in black suits.

Graham nodded, not sure how to respond. It was odd enough to think about those moments leading up to his death, let alone what happened afterwards.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked, searching for something to say. There was no protocol for talking with dead people. Her encounter with Graham was fast approaching exceeding how awkward her reunion with her parents had been.

"Oh, I, er, just came to tell you congratulations on breaking the curse," he replied, inventing an excuse. Truthfully, he'd felt an elusive pull to go and see her ever since he'd found himself alive again in Storybrooke.

"Well thanks, Graham," Emma said. She still wasn't used to everyone's gratitude. She didn't feel like she deserved it. It was Henry who was the real saviour.

"That's not my real name, you know." He tried not to laugh.

"What shall I call you then?" It had been a week and a half since she'd broken the curse, but Emma still hadn't managed to find time to read Henry's storybook. She felt guilty for not remembering Graham's fairytale counterpart, but she'd focused on the people she had daily interactions with: her parents, Red, Ella and Thomas, Pinocchio and Gepetto and the dwarves.

"Well, everyone used to just call me Huntsman," he told her.

"Huntsman?" Emma asked with raised eyebrows. "But that's not a proper name."

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly raised by humans. I grew up with wolves. I don't have a name you could pronounce…" he mumbled, examining her face for a reaction. He was sure there would be some sign of revulsion, but she didn't seem at all bothered by his admission.

"Well I'm not going to call you, Huntsman, it sounds ridiculous."

"Graham, it is then," he replied, deciding that if it was Emma calling him Graham he didn't mind at all.

"Can I come out now?" Henry called from indoors. "I want to talk to Graham too!"

Rolling her eyes at Graham, Emma opened the door, revealing Henry standing just on the other side with crossed arms, doing his best to appear angry. The instant he saw Graham though, he dropped the act and smiled up at him. Emma struggled to cover a laugh and brought Henry in front of her, her arms hanging loosely over his shoulders to embrace him.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Snow called, sounding surprised to see the little group outside. Graham turned to see her walking through the garden, followed swiftly by James, giving Snow a shock. "Huntsman, it's so good to see you!"

"Snow White," Graham grinned. "You look well."

"I am," she replied. "But look at you! You look amazing for a dead man."

"Well-"

And whatever Graham was going to say was cut off by Henry. "What's in the bag, Grandpa?"

"You'll find out later, Henry," James promised, stopping beside Snow and sharing a conspiratorial grin with her.

"Oh, God, please tell me you haven't bought my son a sword," Emma said, remembering James asking her how she felt about weapons the previous evening.

"No," her father told her unconvincingly.

"You did, didn't you?"

"Cool!" Henry exclaimed.

"No, Henry, not cool. You're ten-"

"-Well, I think I'd best be on my way," Graham muttered.

"No, why don't you come in for something to eat and drink?" Snow asked.

"No, that's okay. I can see you're busy," he replied, watching Emma arguing with Henry. He didn't want to interrupt the family and quietly left for the Sheriff Station. With nothing to do, he might as well get his job back.

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**A/N: Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? I appreciate everyone's opinions so leave a review if you've got time just to let me know what you thought. **

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

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**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxxxx  
**


	4. The Big Bad Wolf

**A/N: Thanks to miley-avril, Aod4L, red lighting, guest, luisa mendoza, Sarahhpouatfan1223, TexannaRose, Ziva2012, chinadoll816, Femvamp, Frog1, La5021, NCISGleek, shaemysterious and wildpartyhouse247 for reviewing, alerting and adding this story to their favourites! I'm so grateful, seriously! **

**Okay, I had a little too much fun writing this chapter so I really hope you like it. It's probably my favourite chapter at the moment, but then again I haven't written any others yet. Anyway, I'm just gonna shut up and let you read.**

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**The Big Bad Wolf**

Emma shut off her yellow Bug's engine and got out of the car with a sigh. Ruby was already closing Granny's, so she'd have to hurry if she wanted to grab a hot cocoa before heading home. Normally, Emma wouldn't be buying a hot cocoa – she could always make herself one when she got back to the apartment she had shared with Mary Margaret. But since the curse had broken, only two days ago, she'd found herself less willing to return to the place that had been overtaken by fairytale characters. Newly reunited, Snow and James were all over each other, and though she was happy for her friends/parents, Emma couldn't always stomach it. It would have been fine if they were still Mary Margaret and David, but they weren't.

Emma shook her head at the thoughts and smiled to Ruby as she walked past and pushed open the front door, setting off the bell hanging above it.

"Sorry, we're just about to close," Granny said without looking up from the cash register.

"Yeah, I know, I just hoped I could get a quick hot cocoa," Emma replied, smiling hopefully.

"Oh, Emma, it's you. Of course, give me two seconds whilst I finish counting the register."

Emma nodded, watching while the elderly woman put the cash into piles before bagging the lot of it and taking it out to the safe in the back. As soon as she came back, she began working on Emma's cocoa, adding the cinnamon without even asking. All the while, she began idle chatter, reminiscing about knitting Emma's baby blanket and when she had heard the news that Snow was pregnant with her.

By the time the cocoa was ready, Emma was glad to escape. It was just too odd to hear people talking about knowing her as a child.

"Well, I'd really better get going," Emma mumbled, raising her Styrofoam cup in thanks.

"Night, Emma," Ruby called as Emma walked past her again.

"See you later, Ruby."

"It's Red," she half mumbled.

"Right, sorry," Emma nodded, feeling embarrassed. It had been two days; she ought to have at least made a start on learning who everyone really was. "I'll see you later, _Red."_

Red placed the last chair upside down on one of the outdoor tables and turned to watch Emma reach her car, fumble for and drop her keys as she took a sip of her drink.

"Shoot!" she exclaimed, squatting and trying to search for them. Somehow they'd managed to land and roll under the car. Emma sighed as she left her cup on the roof of her car and got onto her knees, feeling the day's rain soaking into the legs of her jeans as grabbed the star-shaped keyring. The slight smile she gave soon disappeared as she cracked her head on the underside of the car, when she made to stand. A string of curses came from her mouth. "Mother of God!"

"Emma, are you okay?" Ruby asked, leaving the sign she'd been about to taking into the shop and hurrying over to the blonde woman.

"I'll be fine," Emma promised, wincing and rubbing the aching spot on the top of her head.

"Do you need me to drive you home?"

"No, I'll be okay to drive," Emma told her, leaning against the car and drinking her cocoa, glad of its comforting taste. "So, Red, huh?" Now that Emma thought about it, Ruby had always worn a lot of red.

"Mmhm."

"As in Red Riding Hood?"

"Yeah, I'm Red Riding Hood," Ruby-Red-whatever-her-name-was answered.

"Where's the wolf?" Emma asked, allowing herself a chuckle over her joke.

Emma didn't notice that when Ruby smiled, it didn't reach her eyes. She didn't hear that Ruby's laugh was higher-pitched than usual. She didn't realise that whilst Ruby had laughed; she didn't find the joke funny at all.

"It'd be a nice night if not for all the clouds, don't you think?" Emma muttered, looking up at where the moon should have been were it not hidden from sight.

Red glanced over at where Emma had looked, relieved to see that the full moon was not in sight. She hadn't had to think about her changings for so long, but she'd been careless to stay out on the night of the full moon, especially since she had no idea where her red cape was. Some things from the enchanted forest had started to reappear in Storybrooke, usually in Rumplestiltskin's Pawnbroker's shop, but so far Red had had no luck finding the cape that would stop her transforming into a wolf.

"Yeah, there's a lot of clouds tonight," Red agreed, sounding relieved. And she was relieved. Until the clouds started to move, that is. "Shouldn't you be getting home, Emma? You don't want your parents to worry."

"I'm just gonna finish my cocoa," Emma replied, wondering why it seemed like Red was trying to get rid of her all of a sudden. Examining Ruby's face, she decided that Red definitely looked anxious like something was wrong.

"Okay, you've finished your cocoa, you should really be on your way."

"Ru-Red, are you okay? Should I go get Granny?"

But it was too late, Red couldn't answer Emma. She was already beginning to change. First her eyes changed colour, turning a golden yellow. That alone would have been enough to freak Emma out. Her eyes were practically bursting out of their sockets by the time a wolf stood in Red's place.

"Oh, God, you're the wolf," she whispered to herself. "Red?"

The wolf growled, stalking menacingly towards Emma, who fumbled once again with her keys, trying desperately to unlock her car. "Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Finally, she got the door unlocked and shut it just in time, Red throwing herself at it uselessly. Emma turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. "Oh, come on, you useless piece of junk!" A punch landed on the dashboard. The engine flared to life and she sped away, her heart hammering against her ribcage.

Ruby was a wolf. What was happening with the world? As if the fact that fairytales were true wasn't enough, werewolves were real too? What about vampires? Was Twilight true?!

Despite driving home, not running, Emma arrived at the apartment out of breath.

"Emma, what happened to you?" Snow demanded as she looked up from the game of Scrabble she was playing with James and Henry, wanting to know why her daughter looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Oh nothing, just had a little run in with Ruby-"

"-You mean Red?" James asked.

"Right, Red."

"And? What happened?" Henry said before Emma could continue.

"Well, she…er, she…"

"Turned into a wolf?" Snow suggested, trying to be helpful.

"Uh huh."

"That's so cool!" Henry exclaimed. "I wish I'd seen it!"

"Are you going to be okay, Emma?" James asked.

"I'm fine," Emma answered automatically, though if she was being honest, she was a little traumatised by the whole thing. One of her friends had tried to eat her. It wasn't something you got over in ten minutes. "Why didn't any of you tell me though? I was almost eaten!"

"It wasn't our story to tell you," Snow told Emma gently. "Red would have told you eventually, but she's only just remembered it all. She's only just remembered Peter."

"Peter? You mean Peter as in 'Peter and the Wolf' Peter?"

"Here," Henry said, grabbing his storybook from where he'd left it on the couch and handing it to his mother. "Why don't you just read this? It's all in there."

Emma shucked off her leather jacket and threw it over the back of the couch, sitting down to start reading the book. She'd get through the whole thing if it was the last thing she did. She was barely a page in, however, reading the beginning of her parents' story when Snow interrupted her.

"We're starting a new game, Emma. Do you want to play?"

She looked from her family to the book. Reading the book could wait, right? She had plenty of time to read it. "Make it a game of Risk and you're on," Emma replied, marking her place in the weathered book and leaving it on the couch so she could join her family on the floor.

"Well go and get Risk," James said when she looked expectantly at them.

* * *

**A/N: So, I hope you liked it. Leave a review if you've got time because I really do appreciate hearing your thoughts. If you've got a scene/encounter you'd like Emma to have please don't be afraid of prompting me. I'd love to write some of your ideas, I'm sure they're fantastic!**

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**


	5. Dreaming

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's taken me a while to update. I work at weekends, so I don't always get time to update, and this weekend was even more hectic than usual since I had to work the bank holiday. I hope you'll like this chapter. Avril-Miley wanted another Graham scene but the next one is Emma's first encounter with Cinderella (as requested by red lighting), so that's something to look forward to. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Dreaming**

Emma opened her eyes slowly, her head aching as badly as it did when she was hungover. She groaned, trying to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight that was blinding her.

"Whoa, easy there," someone said, though she couldn't see anyone. "You look like you've had a fall." Emma would have recognised that voice anywhere though, and shot upright. Catching sight of the trees surrounding her, Emma blinked in shock.

How she had ended up in the woods just outside Storybrooke, she had no idea. She _must _have drunk a lot the night before, but the funny thing was all she could remember doing was spending her evening with Henry, drinking cocoa with marshmallows in the top and reading Lord of the Rings to him. There had definitely not been any drinking. And it wasn't like her parents would have drugged her cocoa…so what was going on?

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You look a bit dazed."

Emma mumbled non-committedly and pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to push aside the pain of her headache. When nothing happened, she withdrew her hand, gasping at the sight of blood on it. She didn't mind the sight of blood, but for some reason suddenly felt light headed and swooned. It would do no good to wallow in pity, she knew so she forced herself to her feet, ignoring the bile that rushed into her mouth.

She'd only staggered forwards a few steps though, when hands caught her and steadied her. She looked up, smiling as she saw his eyes. But that was when she noticed his attire. The leather pants were far removed from his usual jeans. Gone were the shirt and vest. Even his badge was missing.

"Let me help," he insisted, shushing the protests she was only just beginning to make. "What's your name?"

"Emma, but you already know that, remember?"

"Sorry, but I don't think I've ever met you. I'd remember if I had," he replied, doing his best to be polite and courteous.

"This isn't funny, you know?" Emma told him, unimpressed with his costume.

"I never said it was," he muttered, sliding his arm around her back and assisting her walking. "Where are you headed anyway?"

"Home," she replied, wondering how he hadn't been able to work that out.

"And…where's that?"

"Okay, stop playing around now, Graham."

"Graham? Who's Graham?" he asked, looking at her like she was crazy. In that moment, Emma wondered whether she was too.

"Seriously, stop it. I have to get back to Henry."

"Henry?"

"You know, my son? You spoke to him three days ago – ring any bells?" she snapped.

He shrugged and once again studied her closely. And then it clicked. Emma knew why he didn't know where she lived, why he didn't know who Graham was and why he had no idea who Henry was. She wasn't speaking to Graham and she wasn't speaking to the weird amalgamation of him and the fairytale character; she was talking with the fairytale character and the fairytale character alone. The thought made her shudder.

"I'm not insane, I swear," Emma told him, breathing deeply to maintain at least some rationality.

"I never said you were," the Huntsman replied, looking ashamed for thinking it though. "So…where do you want to go?"

Emma thought for a moment. She didn't know anything about the fairytale world. She could only hazard a guess at where she might find her family. "Snow White and Prince James' castle?"

"The castle? You're not…Princess Emma…are you?"

"Maybe," Emma answered, wincing both from the pain radiating from her head and from embarrassment. In all the mayhem of breaking the curse, she'd forgotten she was technically a princess.

"Here, sit down. We need to take care of that," he muttered, nodding at the cut on her head. "How'd you manage that anyway? It looks pretty deep – almost like a sword wound."

"Your guess is as good as mine," she mumbled, easing herself down onto a fallen tree. Her vision swam for a few seconds, clouding as much as if she had a head rush from standing up too quickly.

The Huntsman pulled what looked like a handkerchief out of nowhere, crouched in front of her and dabbed at Emma's cut before binding it with a rag he procured by ripping his jacket. Emma gritted her teeth as he wound it around, pressing painfully against the wound.

"Sorry," he said, sensing her discomfort. "I'm almost done. There. You'll be good as new soon." He smiled at her, giving her the grin that Graham had always saved for Emma alone. Emma's eyes went wide. She could remember seeing it so many times in Storybrooke when Graham had been mocking her or being sarcastic. Her stomach twisted and she only managed to give him an approximation of a smile.

Before the Huntsman could ask what was wrong, however, there was a rustling in the trees around them. He held a finger to his lips, telling Emma to be silent. She knew she wouldn't have a problem with that – she didn't think she was capable of speaking anyway. Her heart was the only problem. She hoped they weren't about to be attacked, but she knew nothing about the enchanted forest and couldn't help panicking. Her heart was hammering away at her ribcage so loudly that she was sure whoever was in the woods with them would be able to hear it.

Slowly, incrementally, the Huntsman stood up and turned on his heel. The movements were so slick; he didn't even rustle the leaf-litter on the floor or snap a single twig. He was at one with the forest. Emma marvelled at it in the back of her mind.

From his boot, the Huntsman pulled a dagger and attached it to his belt for easier access. Then he pulled his bow off his shoulder and nocked an arrow, prepared for anything. Emma had no doubt he was a good shot – she'd seen Graham's aim and it never faltered. The Huntsman would be no different, she was sure. The thought was reassuring, helping to slow her heart rate somewhat.

Again, the trees rustled, this time closer. Emma's breath caught in her throat. She searched the trees, but couldn't see anything. Whoever it was, they were toying with her and the Huntsman.

The Huntsman stepped forwards, towards the source of the noise, stopping to listen again as whatever was in the woods with them moved again. Before either of them could react, a wolf leapt out of the trees, skidding to a halt at the Huntsman's feet. He grinned, relaxing his grip on the taught bow string before letting go altogether with one hand and ruffling the wolf's fur.

"Are you crazy?!" Emma demanded, before looking closely at the wolf. At first glance, she hadn't noticed that one of its eyes was red. Relief flooded through her. It was still a wild animal, but the wolf was the Huntsman's friend, she knew.

As if sensing her lack of fear, the wolf turned its gaze on her and growled.

"Hey," the Huntsman warned. "She's a friend, she needs our help."

The wolf turned back to him, then looked at Emma again, cocking its head like it was deep in thought.

As though the wolf's appearance had reminded him, the Huntsman said, "Come on. We're probably not the only people in the forest – and you don't want to meet its other inhabitants, trust me – we need to get moving again." He crossed back to Emma and helped her up.

They walked for a few hours, somewhere between a brisk and a leisurely pace, the Huntsman seeming to know exactly what Emma was capable of. The wolf walked in front of them, scouting danger.

When they were halfway to the castle, the Huntsman made them stop.

"It's going to rain." He looked up at the dark grey sky before searching the woods for shelter. He'd barely moved five feet when he found a hollow tree they could take shelter in. It would be cramped, but in her tank top and jeans, Emma would be in danger of catching hypothermia. "Come on, you first," he announced, holding out his hand for Emma.

She took it and had to force herself to remember that it was the Huntsman's hand, not Graham's. He helped her to crawl into the tree through the wide gap at the bottom. Even with just her in there, it wasn't comfortable. The Huntsman squeezed himself in through the opening and sat opposite Emma, their knees touching.

No sooner had he crawled in than the heaven's opened and a torrent of rain fell, bouncing off the trunk of their tree. From the inside of the tree, it sounded just like someone turning a rainstick upside down.

"How's your head?"

"Fine," Emma responded, checking her bandage with a light touch. "How long do you think the rain will last?"

He shrugged, though she could hardly see that in the dark they were sat in.

"It could be a couple of hours, a few minutes or all day. You should get some rest, why don't you sleep for a bit? I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"I can hear you yawning," he replied, rolling his eyes.

Giving in, Emma slumped back a bit and closed her eyes.

He didn't know what made him do it, but he found himself drawn forwards until he was kneeling and leaning over Emma as she slept, listening to the sound of her even breathing. "Sleep well, Emma," he murmured before pressing his lips gently to hers.

Emma woke with a start, and glanced around, finding herself in her bedroom in the small apartment she shared with her parents.

A sigh of relief escaped her and she rolled over, wanting to forget about the dream and go back to sleep for a few hours. Judging from the fact that the sun hadn't fully risen outside her window, it was not an appropriate time to be awake, at least not in Emma's books.

Her heart jumped when a hand touched her arm, stroking it. Peeking through her eye lashes, Emma was surprised to find Graham sharing her bed.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he mumbled sleepily.

"Hey, you know you can't call me that. Aurora's living here already – the name's taken."

"Sorry, I'll call you the Snoring Monster, instead then."

"Hey! I don't snore that loudly," she replied, all thoughts of sleep forgotten.

Graham looked at her, one of his eyebrows raised. Emma was the loudest snorer he knew. It was like sleeping next to a freight train.

"Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything," he defended, trying not to laugh.

"Well your face said it for you," she retorted.

"Come on, it's nearly six and you promised Grumpy and Nova you'd see them first thing to help with this missing fairy dust problem."

Emma threw off the covers, regretting her decision and wandered into the bathroom, bumping into James in the landing.

"Oh, er, morning," she yawned.

"Emma! Do you know where my jacket is?!" Graham shouted from her bedroom, temporarily forgetting about the apartment's other inhabitants. Whilst Snow White had let him in the previous night and shown him up to Emma's room, James had been out until late, consulting with the other townspeople over what to do about the Evil Queen and hadn't known Graham had stayed over.

James eyes went wide and he turned, his every move seeming to be filled with anger.

"No! Wait!" Emma called, trying to stop him. "Damn."

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you liked it. I never really said in the chapter, but this is set about a month after the breaking of the curse. Let me know what you think! (Also, I only wrote this morning and haven't had much time to properly read through it, but please let me know if there are any mistakes, typos etc and I'll correct them.)  
**

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxxxx  
**


	6. Parents Together

**A/N: This is the chapter that red lighting prompted. I'd love some more of you to prompt me some scenes/encounters. I don't bite, I promise. But otherwise, this story will be cut short, I'm afraid, as I only have about four chapters left in my head.**

* * *

**Parents Together**

"Yes, Mr G-Rumplestiltskin, I'll see what I can do about your son," Emma promised, trying to sound cheerful and willing to help, but it was difficult. Rumplestiltskin was the fifth person that day who had called her with a problem that needed her help to be solved, and it was still morning and only one day since the breaking of the curse. "Okay, thanks for calling."

Emma sighed and hung up the phone. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned, fatigue seeming to fill her every pore. She wanted nothing more than to return to her bed and get a good night's rest instead of the nightmare plagued sleep she'd had the previous evening. She just couldn't stop picturing Henry's lifeless body, the machine flat-lining and the nurse removing all the medical equipment from when they'd tried to resuscitate him. The fact that she knew Henry was very much alive and always full of energy didn't do much to stop the images filling her subconscious mind.

Checking her watch, Emma stood, tidied away the file she'd begun making on Baelfire at Rumplestiltskin's request and switched off her computer. Her keys were already in her pocket, so she surveyed her desk for a moment, making sure she had everything she needed, before leaving the station and locking up. She knew she shouldn't leave the station unattended, but she had yet to find a deputy. She had just pocketed her keys and turned when she walked into someone.

"Sorry!" she immediately exclaimed, before looking up and seeing Ashley Boyd.

"Oh, Emma, just the person I wanted to see," Cinderella said in surprise.

"Hi…what can I help you with? I've got a bit of a backlog of curse effects to take care of but I'll see what I can do," she began, giving Ashley-Cinderella-Whatever-Her-Name-Was the same spiel she'd had to give all the other fairytale characters who wanted her help with finding lost friends or possessions.

"No, I don't need your help. I just came to say thank you!"

"Really I didn't do anything – it was all Henry-" Emma tried to say, feeling awkward and embarrassed. Cinderella wasn't the first person who had come to find Emma. All morning and the previous evening she'd had people phoning and dropping by the station and the apartment to give her their thanks.

"-When I remembered, I was so glad you talked me out of selling Alexandra to Rumplestiltskin. I'd have never forgiven myself."

"It was no trouble and I didn't do anything. You made the decision yourself." She checked her watch again. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late. "I'm really sorry but can we hurry this up a bit. I'm actually on my way out – I said I'd pick up Henry from school since he's not feeling too well today," Emma explained, feeling guilty for trying to get rid of the girl. It wasn't exactly polite.

"I hope he's alright."

"It's just a headache, I think. He was fine this morning. Anyway, I'd better go."

"Right, sorry for keeping you," Ella replied brightly.

"No problem. Thanks for stopping by." Emma looked over her shoulder and saw Ella still stood there as though she was waiting for something or someone. "Do you need a lift anywhere?" Emma offered.

"Thomas took Alexandra shopping and he's not going to be back for at least twenty minutes," Ella admitted. "I don't suppose I could accompany you to the school, could I? I need a good catch-up with Snow. How is she, Snow, I mean?"

"Happy, I guess," Emma answered with a shrug. If Snow White was anything, it was happy. She had her memories back and she'd been reunited with the man of her dreams, her very own Prince Charming. She was practically buzzing and the fact that her daughter and grandson were now living with her only made her more cheerful.

Emma unlocked her yellow Bug, thinking again that she really should take the Sheriff's car to the mechanic and get it fixed. She didn't even know if Hansel and Gretel's father would remember enough of his life as Michael to fix it after Sidney cut her brakes. So much was still uncertain in the aftermath of the curse and magic returning.

Ella got into the passenger side. "I'm Ella – Cinderella, by the way…"

"I know. Henry told me when I first met you," Emma replied with a smile at the memory.

"I heard about the apple turnover and everything…has he recovered okay?"

"He's fine. If you looked at him, you wouldn't know anything had even happened. What about Alexandra?" She was doing her best to make it sound like natural conversation, but Emma didn't think she'd ever had to force herself to talk more. She had always been the kind of person who preferred a bit of silence rather than idle chatter. And with only a day gone by since curse, Emma still hadn't quite accepted the fact that everyone she was talking to was a fairytale character. Then again, she was one too. Technically.

Whilst Cinderella talked, Emma was ashamed to say she zoned out, too wrapped up in thoughts about what her life would have been like if she'd grown up in the Enchanted Forest. Finally, she blinked, realising that they weren't far from the school at all.

"I never thought about how odd it was that our lives here seemed to follow our lives in the Enchanted Forest too. I'm just glad that I still have Thomas here, though. I think that's the only good to come out of the curse."

Emma resisted the urge to butt in and say how Henry was something good that came out of the curse too.

"I don't know what I'd do without him – he's my true love. I know from my time in the Enchanted Forest that life without your true love is awful."

Emma swallowed. She understood a lot more than she did before, enough to know that the kisses she had shared with Graham had only allowed him to remember because they were true loves. Emma's reaction hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Oh, Emma, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean… I didn't think…I just completely forgot about Graham-"

"-It's fine," Emma said, cutting in and clearing her throat. She sounded far too upset which was ridiculous when you thought about it. How were she and Graham true loves when they barely knew each other? She'd never told him anything about her personal life; all they talked about was the job and _his _personal life.

Ella nodded, feeling guilty for bringing up the topic though.

When they pulled up outside the school, Emma saw Henry sat beside his grandmother on a bench, looking pale and unhappy.

"Hey, Kid," Emma greeted, walking over and taking his temperature with the back of her hand. "How'd you feel?"

"Cold," Henry replied, pulling his school cardigan tighter around him.

Emma shrugged off her leather jacket worriedly and wrapped it round him. His head felt anything but cold.

"He's been cold and hot on and off all morning," Snow supplied helpfully to Emma.

From the sounds of things, he had a fever. Hopefully, it wouldn't last too long. Henry was an energetic kid. Lying around the apartment all day, sleeping, would not keep him happy.

"Hold on, I think I might have something for your headache in the car," Emma said, turning.

"I'll get it," Ella offered. She had been stood beside Snow, the two of them conferring over what they thought was wrong with Henry.

"It's in the glove compartment," Emma muttered.

Henry tried to smile as Cinderella handed him a pain relief pill. Snow had already dug through his school bag and pulled out his water bottle, handing that to him too.

As soon as Henry had taken the medication, Emma helped him up and into the car.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Snow said, seeing Emma's worry. "One of the other kids had something the other week, so he's probably just caught that."

Emma nodded, but she couldn't help fearing that Henry's illness was related to the poisoned apple turnover he'd eaten.

"Alexandra was feverish last week too," Ella added. "She wouldn't stop crying. I'm surprised she's still got a voice. Thomas and I have only just managed to catch a reasonable night's sleep."

Henry's infant years were something Emma regretted missing. Seeing Henry grow up, learn to talk, read and write, ride his first bike, have his first haircut. They were all things she'd never see. She tried to console herself with the fact that Henry had yet to go through his teenage years and that there were many things she would still get to experience with him – his first girlfriend being one of them – but it wasn't the same.

"How is she now?" Emma asked, smart enough to guess that fever in infants could be very serious.

"Much better, thanks. But we took her to the hospital as a precaution. It's just some type of bug or virus doing the rounds. Don't be surprised if you get it too. Or Snow. Just let Henry rest and he'll be right as rain soon."

"Keep him hydrated," Snow advised.

"Yes, lots of water," Ella agreed.

Emma felt out of her depth, nodding along. She'd only just become a mother again and she felt so unprepared. Compared to her, Mary Margar-Snow and Ella had to be the best mothers in the world. They obviously knew exactly what to do with sick children; despite the fact that neither of them had much mothering experience since Emma had been taken away from Snow when she was minutes old and Ella had only been a mother for a few months.

"Maybe give him something he likes – ice cream?" Snow suggested.

"If he starts throwing up, give him crackers."

The two of them went on and on, making Emma feel more and more overwhelmed. Finally, she threw up her hands, thanked the two friends for their advice and got into the car with Henry. If it came to it however, she knew she could always phone Mary Margaret and she'd be able to help.

**A/N: If you're wondering about the title, for some reason I had the parenting group from About A Boy in my head (Single Parents Alone Together) and this chapter had a lot of parents in it, so that's where it came from. Thanks so much to you all for reading. Special thanks for those of you who have reviewed and/or started following the story and added it to your favourites. It really, really means a lot. I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter and how well I did with my characterisation of Ella, so leave a review if you've got time.**

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jack and the Beanstalk Chapter (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxx**


	7. Up Goes the Beanstalk

******A/N: I hope you guys like this chapter. Sorry it's taken me a few days to update, but hopefully this longer chapter will make up for it. I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review if you've got time!**

* * *

**Up Goes the Beanstalk**

"Henry?" Emma called, dropping her keys on her desk.

"Yeah, Mom?" Henry answered, popping up suddenly right in front of her and giving her a fright.

Rolling her eyes, she flipped open the box she had returned from Granny's with. "Donut or bear claw?"

Henry thought for a moment before grinning and grabbing one of each. "Thanks, Mom!"

Emma smirked and set the box down beside her keys before sitting down. She'd just taken a bite of her own bear claw when the ground began to shake, her desk and everything else in the room rattling and actually beginning to move from the vibrations. Dropping the bear claw back into the box, Emma stood and took Henry's arm, holding on to him lest something should happen.

By the time the vibrations had stopped, they'd backed three feet towards the door of the Sheriff Station.

"Phew," Henry sighed, turning to smile at Emma. She gave him her best approximation of a smile in return, worrying because the last time Storybrooke had suffered an earthquake it hadn't brought anything good.

A moment of silence followed before all six phones in the station flared to life, ringing off the hook. Emma approached the closest one and was about to pick it up, when her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Instead, she dug that out and answered.

"Hello?"

"Emma, thank God!" Snow said before demanding, "Where are you? Are you okay? Is Henry with you?!"

"Yes, M-, calm down. Henry's right here because we were going to go on that hike today, remember? We're at the station." Emma grimaced, knowing that they were probably going to have to put that trip off now. She had organised the hike to lift Henry's spirits after his bout of illness, hoping that some exercise and a day out would cheer him up.

"Of course. James, they're still at the station," Snow replied.

Emma sighed at the thought that James was there too. Suddenly, the phone had been taken from Snow and James was speaking.

"Emma, you need to get to Main Street." Emma opened her mouth to reply, but didn't get a chance before her father added, "Now," to the end of his sentence, as if he hadn't properly conveyed the urgency of the situation already.

"I'll be there in five," Emma sighed.

Ending the call, she turned to find Henry had already pulled on his coat and was waiting for her. As they walked to her yellow Volkswagen Beetle, Emma zipped up her blue leather jacket, wondering what had happened. It had been a week since she'd broken the curse and things had been relatively normal. After storming the Mayor's house only to find the Evil Queen missing, the townspeople had gone back to their Storybrooke lives – Snow returning to teaching, Grumpy keeping his post at the hospital, everyone. She'd yet to locate Baelfire, the local Pawn Shop owner's missing son, but she was having some success with other cases, having reunited the Mad Hatter with his daughter, Grace.

Sat inside the car, Emma and Henry could see the devastation the earthquake had left behind. The road was littered with long cracks, which Emma had to gingerly drive over. In fact, the closer she got to Granny's Diner, the bigger the cracks seemed to be, she noticed. Finally, she decided it was no longer safe to drive over them and pulled over, walking the rest of the distance to the Diner, holding onto Henry's hand to make sure he wasn't put in danger.

"Emma!" someone called as she approached, Red pushing her way through the crowd that had formed outside the town's most popular restaurant. Snow and Charming weren't far behind.

"What's going on?" she asked, trying to ignore the whispers of the rest of the townspeople as they too noticed that the Sheriff had arrived.

Red shook her head. "You have to see it yourself."

Emma gulped at the look on the young waitress' face. It was obvious that she was worried, but more than anything it looked like something had scared her. James too, who Emma had thought was incapable of feeling fear, looked shaken up. Henry looked up at her expectantly. Snow squeezed her shoulder. James nodded at her, all of them waiting for her to start walking.

"For a Saviour, she's not very brave," someone in the crowd jeered.

James' jaw locked and he made to turn, only to find Snow's arm stopping him and her face giving him a warning.

Having the motivation she needed, Emma let go of Henry's hand and moved past her parents. The crowd parted for her, whispers following her. Finally, she reached the front of the crowd and looked around, unsure what had managed to upset the townspeople so badly. All she could see was more fissures in the pavements and road.

"Well, what is it?" Henry asked from behind her.

"Henry, you weren't meant to come with me," Emma groaned.

"But I want to know what's going on too."

Emma didn't answer, having just noticed that the cracks in the road disappeared around the corner. She gave Henry an uncertain look before following them, stopping dead the minute she caught sight of it.

"The Beanstalk," Henry breathed beside her in awe.

The thing was massive, reaching high into the sky and disappearing in the clouds.

Twenty minutes later, practically the whole town was gathered in the town hall.

"Obviously something must be done about the Beanstalk-" James began saying, easily slotting back into his leadership role from his days as King.

"Just chop it down!" Grumpy shouted.

"That's a great idea," Emma muttered sarcastically, not enjoying standing at the front of the hall with her family and having everyone's eyes on her. "Do you know anyone with an axe the size of a house?"

Someone laughed. Snow looked at Emma disapprovingly. She ought to be setting an example, not making jokes out of the situation. As the Saviour, everyone looked to her for help and advice not sarcastic comments.

"Does anyone have any other suggestions for courses of action?" James asked hopefully.

A chorus of shouts filled the town hall, only to fall to silence when the doors blew open, revealing Rumplestiltskin.

"It seems to me," he said, walking down the centre of the large room, his cane tapping with every step. "That someone needs to go up the Beanstalk and explore the land up there."

"We don't need _your _advice," James responded forcefully.

"No, he's right," a young woman said, following Rumplestiltskin to the front of the hall. Snow and James frowned for a moment before recognising Belle. "There could be people up there. People who were trapped in the curse just like us."

"We're meant to be living in a democratic town, why don't we vote on it?" Rumplestiltskin suggested, his voice taking the familiar lilt of confidence it held in the Enchanted Forest.

"Fine," James agreed. "All in favour of sending someone up the Beanstalk?"

Almost everyone in the town hall raised a hand. Snow looked around in surprise. Since when did people listen to Rumplestiltskin – he was hated by all, wasn't he?

"Excellent," Rumplestiltskin said, smiling at the unanimous result. "I believe the next matter on the agenda is who shall we send?"

"It was your idea, why don't you go?" Grumpy asked, looking at the older man with hatred in his eyes.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "I think not."

James grunted. "Why not? You're the one who wants to know what's up there so desperately."

"I'm Hobblefoot, remember? I could hardly climb the beanstalk."

James scoffed. If he wanted to Rumplestiltskin could easily rid himself of his limp. He obviously wanted someone else to go up the beanstalk for a reason.

"If Rumplestiltskin will not go, someone must volunteer," Snow said, stepping forward to stand beside James.

"I will go," James replied, nodding at his wife.

But his offer was met with disagreement. "But who will lead us?"

"My wife is more than capable of taking over my leadership duties should something happen to me," James assured everyone.

"No, they're right, James. We need you to lead us," Snow told him. She knew she would have been able to lead the people were they in the Enchanted Forest still, but she had yet to gather as much confidence as James had in Storybrooke.

He looked at Snow intently for a moment, seeing the worry hidden in his eyes, the desperation she felt in the thin line that was her mouth before nodding slightly and taking her hand. He gave it a squeeze and turned back to their people.

"Any volunteers?"

Someone near the back of the hall, someone who had ducked down so they couldn't be seen, shouted, "Why doesn't the Saviour go?"

"No! Emma isn't going!" James immediately asserted. After having only just reunited with his daughter, he wasn't going to send her into danger. "Someone else, someone more experienced with this kind of thing is going."

Emma knew she was going to regret it before she did it. But she also knew that nobody else was going to volunteer. Besides, she was the Sheriff, it was down to her to do these kinds of things.

"I'll go," she said but no-one heard her over her father's ranting and raving. "I'll go!"

"No-" James tried.

"-No, Dav-James, no-one else is going to go-"

"-That doesn't mean you have to!"

"No, it doesn't, but I'm going to go anyway," she replied.

"Emma," Snow whispered, wanting nothing more than to persuade her daughter to stay but knowing it was a useless venture.

"Give me an hour," Emma said, before leaving, brushing past a strangely happy Rumplestiltskin and Belle. Henry ran after her, shooting the deal-maker a scared glance as he passed.

An hour later, Emma was ready.

"Good luck, Emma," Ella and Thomas called as she passed them on her way to the beanstalk.

Grumpy nodded to her, the rest of the dwarves gathered behind him to wish her well.

"I love you, Mom," Henry said to her.

Emma paused to bring her son into a hug, realising it could be their last, and told him she loved him too.

"Be safe, Emma," her mother said, joining them and rubbing her arm.

Before she could protest, Snow and James pulled her into a hug.

"In case I don't come back," Emma whispered into her father's ear, pressing the Deputy's badge into his hand.

With her goodbyes finished, Emma approached the beanstalk growing out of the middle of the road. Rumplestiltskin stood just in front of it with a satisfied grin.

"Alright, Gold, you got what you wanted; now tell me why I'm going up there."

"I told you I would call in that favour you owe me. I believe my son is up there and you're going to retrieve him for me," Rumplestiltskin told her.

"Fine," Emma muttered. "I'll bring your son back but you might wanna ask yourself whether he wants to be back with you."

Emma gave the beanstalk a once over before gripping one of its branches and placing her foot on another. She climbed up it like you would climb a tree, finding hand and footholds. But it was so tall, it was almost an hour before she was out of sight of the townspeople below. Snow, James and Henry were planning to stay in the street until she returned, a tent and camping equipment stowed in James' truck just around the corner.

Emma's arms ached from reaching up for the next branch. Her legs were sore from pushing herself up the beanstalk. And she still hadn't reached the top. She was so bored, she was talking to herself.

"Stupid, Emma, stupid. Why did you even agree to do this?"

After almost two hours of climbing, she finally reached the top of the beanstalk.

"Hello? Anybody here?" she called, looking around. She couldn't see any people, but she was stood in the middle of a town, a castle looming ahead of her in the distance. Nobody had answered her call, so she ducked into the closest house, looking for people. The inside of the house was coated in a layer of dust, cobwebs littering the corners of every room, and had an empty feeling to it.

Instinctively knowing that the rest of the houses would be the same, Emma left and began making her way down the cobbled street towards the castle. As she got closer to the building, she realised it was actually much bigger than she had first thought.

"Of course it's massive. It houses a giant, remember?" Emma mumbled to herself. "Oh stop talking to yourself. Just hurry up and find Baelfire so you can get back to Henry."

Shutting up, Emma slipped inside the castle doors, thinking it lucky that whoever was inside had left them slightly ajar. Had they been closed, she'd have been stuffed. There would have been no way she could have reached the handle – it was nine feet off the ground.

Her gasp was lost in the size of the place she had walked into. Gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glittering in the light that streamed through the windows, windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. The tiled floor gleamed almost unnaturally. Even Mary Margaret hadn't been able to keep her floor that clean. Her booted feet made echoes with every step.

Her mind was blown. She'd never seen anything so extravagant. She forgot all about the giant, about being quiet and careful. She forgot why she was there and went exploring.

She found the kitchen, the table over two feet taller than her as she walked beneath it, staring up at the underside of it.

She did, however, remember her purpose in visiting the castle, when the floor began to shake.

"Crap," Emma hissed, knowing it meant the giant was coming. "Crap, crap, crap!" She had nowhere to hide. In the giant room, she was like one of the Borrowers, too small to climb the table. Too small to do anything.

The table and chair shook as the Giant through himself into it, digging into whatever food lay on the table, though how it had gotten there, Emma didn't know. Magic, she supposed, must be the secret.

She was still stood under the table, hiding behind a table-leg, when the giant fell asleep in his chair. Great snores roaring out of his nose and almost bursting her ear drums.

"You must be new here," someone said, surprising her.

"Who are you?" she demanded, whirling to face him.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, jumping down from the kitchen surface he was stood on. Emma thought he was going to break his legs, but he simply leapt onto a stood then shimmied down one of the legs.

"You're not Jack, are you?"

"Nope," he snorted. "That idiot is long gone. Though everybody does seem to think I'm Jack."

"Then who are you?"

"I told you," he replied, stepping onto the ground and shaking his lengthy brown hair out of his eyes, "it doesn't matter. The real question is where have you come from? No-one's been here in over thirty years, except for me, of course."

"I came up the beanstalk…" Emma told him, disconcerted by his admission that they were in fact alone with the giant.

"The beanstalk? The beanstalk?!"

"Why? How did you get here?"

"Same. Pretty much. Although I suppose some of the credit should go to Reul Ghorm," he answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Who's that?"

"You're telling me you haven't heard of the most powerful being in all the land? Where are you from? And if you don't mind me asking, why are you dressed like that? You look ridiculous."

"I look ridiculous? Says the man wearing a dress."

"It's a tunic, actually."

"Whatever," Emma replied. "I'm looking for someone, so either help me or leave me alone."

"I know who you're looking for. You won't find him here, though. You should just go back down the beanstalk. You're not safe here."

"Well, you should come too. It's not safe for you either," Emma pointed out.

"I can cope. I've survived this long, haven't I?"

"Look, Storybrooke is safer and it's filled with good people. Trust me, I'm the Sheriff."

"Storybrooke? That's where you're from?" he asked, never having heard of the place. "Why don't I just escort you back to the beanstalk and then you can stop pestering me."

Emma allowed the man whose name she still didn't know to lead the way out of the kitchen and back to the castle doors, before looking back. Could she really go back to Storybrooke, knowing she hadn't done what she was asked. She hadn't properly explored. For all she knew, there could be more people in the castle.

"Come on. I haven't got all day."

"Yes, I'm sure you have thousands of things to do in this deserted place," Emma quipped.

"Well getting eaten by the giant must be at the top of your to-do list and if you're not careful you'll be digested before you can check it off."

Giving him a fake smile, Emma pushed past him and left the castle. Even if she hadn't seen the entirety of the castle, she'd at least be able to report to the townspeople some of what was up the beanstalk.

"So what happened here?" Emma asked her companion as they walked back towards where the beanstalk protruded slightly from the ground.

He shrugged. "Giant ate everyone, I guess." They walked in silence until they reached the stump of the beanstalk. "So, goodbye."

"Oh, just climb down with me," Emma told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the hole beside the stump. "Put your left hand here, move your leg, that's it." Together they climbed down the beanstalk. The instant Emma's feet touched the ground, she was enveloped in a hug from Henry, James and Snow already hugging each other with happiness because they knew Emma was safe.

Rumplestiltskin ran, limping still, to the stranger's side. "Bae! Is that you?"

"Father?"

"So you are Baelfire!" Emma exclaimed.

He nodded reluctantly before being dragged into a hug from his father.

"Now what do we do about that?" Thomas asked, joining the group by the beanstalk, and nodding towards the base of the beanstalk.

James shrugged. "Maybe we can chop it down. I'm sure there must be something that would do it."

"Yeah, good plan. You don't want the giant coming down here, trust me," Emma told them all.

They all looked at her.

"Giant?" Snow asked, horror creeping into her voice.

"Giant," Emma confirmed.

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**August Chapter (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**Many thanks for reading and much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxx**


	8. Wooden Man

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for not updating for a few days. I'm getting bogged down with preparations for going to university. I hope you all like the chapter by the way.**

* * *

**Wooden Man**

Emma woke up, surprised for a moment to find herself lying on the floor before she remembered that she had given Henry her entire bed instead of sharing it with him. Kneeling beside his still sleeping form, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, checking to see if his fever had broken. Though his temperature had lowered some, the fever was still raging.

"We're just going to work," James said quietly, poking his head around the door unexpectedly. "Your mother told me to bring up this medicine for Henry though. She swears it'll help."

Emma nodded and took the bottle filled with a gloopy-looking mixture with some doubt. Even if it did work, she was sure it would taste disgusting and was almost glad for a moment that it wasn't for her.

As James left, sighing at the fact that his own daughter hadn't even spoken to him, Emma gently nudged Henry awake. He looked up at her blearily through owl eyes.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, honey, I've got some medicine for you – it'll make you feel better, I promise."

He nodded, trying push himself into a sitting position before he realised he was too weak and needed Emma's help. Once he was upright however, he was able to swallow the light brown liquid Emma had poured onto the teaspoon her father had also given her.

"Are you hungry? Do you think you could eat?"

Henry shrugged. He honestly didn't know. He hadn't thrown up but he also didn't have hunger gnawing at his stomach.

"Come on, kiddo, I'll make you some breakfast," Emma told him helping Henry get out of the bed and down the stairs. "So…breakfast…"

"Normally I just get toast," Henry mumbled helpfully.

"Toast is a no can-do. I never got round to replacing the toaster," Emma replied sheepishly.

"Cereal then."

"We've got muesli?" Emma shook the box at him.

Henry pulled a disgusted face.

"No to the muesli then. I could make pancakes," Emma offered doubtfully. She had no idea if they even had enough milk, but she knew there was a packet mix in the cupboard so she dug that out and followed the instructions as best she could before pouring the liquid into a frying pan and moving on to sorting out a hot cocoa for Henry.

Just as she was handing it to him, he asked, "What's that burning smell?"

"Sugar!" Emma cursed, only just able to refrain from using an actual swear word in front of her ten year old son. "The pancakes!" Her nose wrinkled as she pulled the frying pan off the heat and slid a wooden spatula under one of them, seeing that it was thoroughly black underneath. "I think I'll just ring Granny's."

Henry nodded, taking a swig of hot cocoa with a hopeful expression that soon fell when he realised he was so full of cold he couldn't even taste the cinnamon Emma had sprinkled on top.

"Granny's Diner," the person on the other end of the phone answered. "How can I help you?"

"Granny," Emma said in relief. "Could I ask you a really big favour? I need breakfast for Henry but I can't leave him here alone and he's too sick to go with me to get it. It wouldn't be possible to deliver something, would it?"

"I'm sure we could manage that," Granny replied. "Red! Look after the Diner, I'm going to the Charmings' apartment." Emma had to hold her cell away from her ear at the shout.

"Great. Thanks." Emma dropped her cell back into the pocket of one of her leather jackets hanging beside the front door. "Right, breakfast is on its way. Are you warm enough?" she asked Henry, feeling his temperature again. "I'll just go and get you another blanket." Jogging up the stairs, Emma wondered what Granny would bring for Henry – she'd never requested anything in particular. She grabbed the comforter off her bed and, once downstairs, draped it around Henry. "Shall I put the TV on?"

Emma had just switched on the TV and put cartoons on for Henry when there was a knock at the door.

"You good?"

Henry nodded, before croaking, "You should go to work."

"I can't. There's no-one to watch you."

Ruffling Henry's hair, she left him to watch and opened the door for Granny to enter, laden with a shrink-wrapped plate of food and a covered mixing bowl.

"I can't stop long – I promised Pinocchio that I'd go and see the Blue Fairy for him."

"August!" Emma felt ashamed. In all the crazy of the past two days, she'd completely forgotten about her friend and his predicament. "How is he?"

"Still wooden," Granny replied sadly.

"I should have gone to see him…"

"I've brought a few chocolate pancakes," Granny said, trying to change the sombre atmosphere that had swamped the apartment in those few seconds. "And something for you, Sheriff." She handed Emma the plate which bore a bear claw and unwrapped the bowl, pulling out a handful of pancakes. Emma pulled out a plate and once the pancakes were on it, carried it over to Henry.

Giving her a grateful smile, Emma turned back to Granny, "Thanks for this. I guess I'd better let you get back."

"If you need a sitter, I'd recommend Jiminy," Granny told Emma with a wink as she left.

"What do you say, Henry? Fancy a day with Archie?"

"Jiminy, sure," Henry told her, beginning to feel better now that he'd had medicine and was eating something.

Emma pulled out her cell again and dialled for Archie, telling herself that she ought to start changing people's names in her contacts.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Archie, it's Emma. I wondered whether you'd mind staying with Henry today – he's ill and I really need to get out and do some things."

"Of course, I'll be over as soon as I can, Emma. Bye."

Emma shut off the call and turned to Henry. "Just going to get dressed," she told him, dashing up to the bedroom they were temporarily sharing and changing into a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting shirt. After brushing her teeth and her hair, she was almost ready, just needing to pull on a pair of her boots from the pile near the door and grab a jacket.

Jiminy didn't take long to arrive, but Emma waited until he had before leaving.

"I'll see you later," she said, kissing Henry goodbye. "Feel better."

She knew she ought to be going to work, but there was something she _had _to do first. She was just crossing the road, heading for the B&B when Granny returned with the Mother Superior in tow. Emma jogged over. She _had _to know what was going. August was her friend.

"Well? Can you help him?" she asked the nun as they climbed the stairs to August's room.

"I don't know. Pinocchio's curse…it's not normal. He didn't remain brace, truthful and unselfish – he left you – and so he was turned back into wood. I already helped him once before and he didn't heed my advice."

"What? But August was just a kid? It's not his fault he left. You can't seriously expect a seven year old to take care of a baby," Emma complained. Perhaps August hadn't done what he was told. Perhaps he had broken his promise. But as she had said, he was only seven at the time.

Leaving the shocked nun behind, Emma hurried up the rest of the stairs.

"August!" she exclaimed breathlessly as she found him.

He looked almost exactly like he had the last time she'd seen him before she'd broken the curse. Except, whilst then he had been lying on the bed in the process of solidifying into wood, now he was sat at his desk, able to move. His fingers tapped at the keys on the typewriter.

"Emma," he smiled. "You did it."

"You can move…how?"

"I'm a wooden man, Emma, not a puppet on a string," he told her as the Mother Superior walked in.

"Pinocchio, I hear you've been a naughty boy again."

August sighed and turned to look at her. "Yes, I suppose I have."

"What? No you haven't!" Emma declared, whirling to stare at him.

"Emma, it's my fault Henry ate that apple turnover. If I hadn't left you that might never have happened. I broke the promise I made to look after you and now I've paid the price for that mistake."

"Stop it, it wasn't your fault! I don't blame you for leaving me."

"Well you should."

"You say you're the Blue Fairy? Well change him back," Emma demanded of the Mother Superior.

"I can't. Pinocchio must find his help elsewhere. Magic has returned to Storybrooke – there are a number of opportunities open to you, Pinocchio. The first step is to learn your lesson."

"I have learnt my lesson. I came to Storybrooke, didn't I? I helped Emma as best I could," August replied. "If I got to do my life in this world over again, I wouldn't make the same choices."

Out of nowhere, blue light ensconced him. Emma gasped as it faded, leaving August looking normal again.

He stared down at his hands in amazement.

"See you didn't need my help at all," the Blue Fairy smiled. "You did it yourself."

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking Chapter (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: I'd really like to know what you thought about this chapter. I'm not too sure about it myself, so your opinions are even more valued. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxx**


	9. The Wishing Well

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating sooner. I had another story that was drawing to a close so I decided to focus on that until it was finished (which it now is). I hope you don't mind. I'd like to say a quick thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their alerts/favourites. Anywhos, this chapter is shorter than some of the others, but I hope you'll still like it. **

* * *

**The Wishing Well**

"Here, Kid," Emma muttered, picking up the map and compass off the dashboard of her VW Beetle and handing them to her son. "So where are we going?"

Henry surveyed the map for a few moments, working out whether it would take them too long to get where he really wanted to go. Without answering his Mom, he opened the car door and climbed out, sliding the backpack he took everywhere over his shoulder. Absorbed in the map, he began walking in what he thought was the right direction.

"Henry, wait!" Emma called.

"Hurry up!" he shouted back, still not stopping.

"Kids," she muttered to herself, jogging after him. Henry had only recovered from his bout of illness a few days before, but the change in him was remarkable. Whilst he had been ill, Henry had had barely any energy. But out in the rough country outside Storybrooke he was walking full steam ahead, the bounce back in his step. That didn't mean to say he couldn't catch something else, so Emma took the extra precaution of tightening his scarf as she caught up to him.

The two of them had been walking for ten minutes and Henry still hadn't told her where they were going. Every so often however, he would stop to look at the map then hold the compass up and spare it a confused glance before shrugging and setting off again.

"Need some help with that compass, Henry?"

"I think I got it," he told her, unwilling to concede defeat.

"Remember, just put the bunny in the hole," she said, reminding him of one of the navigational tips she'd given him in the car when teaching him how to use the compass.

"Yep, the bunny is in the hole," he replied with a grin. "See?" He held the compass up for Emma to see that the North arrow was indeed level with the arrowhead marked on the edge.

She ruffled his hair, proud that so far he seemed to have understood how to navigate with a compass.

"So, am I allowed to know where we're going?" she asked, puffing as they walked uphill. She'd been looking around but all she saw was grass, trees and more trees. Nothing that would tell her where they were. There were too many trails in the area and they all looked too similar. After all, how different could two trees look?

"No, it's a surprise."

"A surprise? Why does everything have to be a surprise?" she muttered to herself. She thought it was James' influence. He was forever coming home from the animal shelter or the town hall after holding a meeting, a bunch of flowers or chocolates as a surprise gift for Snow. Henry must have been picking up on it. "Do I at least get to know how much further it is?"

Henry dithered for a few moments before telling her that they were only about a mile away. Just knowing how much further they had to walk wouldn't give her too much of a clue, he thought. But Emma didn't stop questioning him, enjoying teasing him as he reiterated time and time again that their destination was intended to be a surprise.

Despite her hints, Emma _was _surprised when they got within eyesight of the Wishing Well.

"The Wishing Well?" Emma asked, receiving a nod from Henry in reply. "Well done, Henry," she said of his navigation. He'd only learnt the skills that morning, but already he was excelling at them.

He grinned jubilantly at the praise. Praise had never been freely given when he'd been living with Regina.

"So, what do you think? Have a drink?"

"Sure, I brought cups!" Henry responded, shrugging his bag off his shoulder and delving a hand inside before pulling out two mugs he'd obviously taken from the apartment.

Taking the mug Henry held out to her, Emma caught sight of the M for Mary-Margaret painted onto the side and sighed unhappily. She still missed her friend. Taking her sigh for impatience, Henry began tugging on the rope hanging down the side of the well to raise the bucket somewhere in its depths. As soon as the bucket was high enough, Emma reached in and pulled it onto the edge of the well, dunking her mug and Henry's inside to fill them.

"Careful," Emma laughed, as Henry sloshed his water everywhere when he took his mug from her.

"Cheers!" he exclaimed, bashing his mug against Emma's a little over-exuberantly and soaking both their hands in water.

Emma and Henry sipped at the water, marvelling at its fresh taste. Emma didn't remember it being so invigorating the last time she drank it with August, and she thought there was even a slight taste of some fruit or something that hadn't been there before. She couldn't put her finger on what it was; but something was definitely different.

"So what did you wish for?"

"Mom!" Henry said, appalled. Emma smirked. "I can't tell you that! It won't come true. Besides, haven't you read the plaque? You don't have to wish for something for it to happen." Emma couldn't help smiling at his knowing tone, walking past him to read the plaque. She vaguely remembered August telling her something about the well and the plaque, but it felt like so long ago and she'd forgotten.

"Right. Magic lake. Power to return something lost. Got it," she mumbled, reading the plaque. "So I guess this probably is magic then…"

"Uh huh," Henry replied excitedly.

"Do you know something I don't?" Emma asked him, suspicious of his enthusiasm when he'd previously seemed wary of magic.

"No," he answered, not managing to convince Emma what with her 'superpower' and all.

Humouring him, however, Emma changed to conversation topic. "So got any food in that bag of yours?"

Henry rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag and pulling out two Apollo bars. He waved them in front of Emma's face before handing her one and unwrapping his own candy bar.

Viewing her bar with some amusement, Emma said, "I think you've got a bit of a candy addiction." It seemed to her that Henry always had a stock of his favourite Apollo candy bars.

"Duh, I'm ten," he grinned, showing her chocolate covered teeth.

"Monster," Emma laughed.

Henry snorted as she pulled him towards her and began tickling him.

"No, no, stop!"

Releasing him, Emma ruffled his hair again and handed him the second candy bar. "Keep it."

Henry beamed and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans, saving it for later.

"So…are we done?" Emma asked.

"No," Henry told her, picking the map and compass up and setting off again.

Sighing, Emma finished her water and followed him, left to wonder what else he had in store for her and what the consequences of drinking the well water might be.

* * *

**A timeline for reference so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**The Wishing Well (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town Chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**Grumpy Chapter (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what some of you think of this chapter that links with chapter one, so leave a review if you've got time. I do love hearing what you guys think. Also, don't forget that I'm still looking for prompts for other encounters Emma can have with the fairytale characters, otherwise there will only be two more chapters before this story finishes. **

**To the anonymous reviewer who made a prompt: I'm going to work the meeting you want to see into the whole town chapter I have planned for chapter 11, if you don't mind.**

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxx**


	10. A Fairy Dust Mystery

**A/N: I was hoping to get this chapter up earlier today but I got a little distracted by Warehouse 13 on Netflix…**

**Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It's not exactly what I had in mind when I sat down to write it, but oh well.**

* * *

**A Fairy Dust Mystery**

"Finally! Finally you decide to return my call and take up the case!" he grumbled. "I called you two weeks ago about this and you're only just 'getting round to it'? You're meant to be the Sheriff of this goddamn town!"

"No need to ask which dwarf you are," Emma muttered, the statement audible enough for Graham to hear and dig a sharp elbow into her ribs whilst he tried to restrain a smile. After shooting him an annoyed glance, Emma turned back to Grumpy and smiled as brightly as she could. "Grumpy, I'm so very sorry for the delayed response to your issue. As I'm sure you are aware there have been some other pressing issues that needed the Sheriff Station's utmost attention. But rest assured, Graham and I will find your missing fairy dust."

Emma didn't think she'd ever smiled so hard. It felt fake and phony on her face, and even inside her head her voice had sounded like one of those ever cheery women on a recorded message for one of those fake holidays you had supposedly won.

"I told you. It's not missing; someone _stole _it!" Grumpy growled, only calming down when the nun beside him took his arm and squeezed it reassuringly.

Emma exchanged a suspicious look with Graham.

"Wait, how do you know someone stole it?" Graham asked, holding up a hand.

"Dreamy saw them-"

"-Sorry, who?" Emma interrupted, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Dreamy," Astrid told her, nodding at Grumpy.

"Don't you dare," Grumpy warned Emma as she smirked and tried desperately not to burst out laughing.

Swallowing, she pushed aside her mirth, getting down to business only to be distracted by the walkie-talkie she only used with Henry blaring to life.

"Mom?"

"I'll just be a few seconds," Emma muttered to Graham, pulling the radio off her belt and walking outside towards the patrol car. "Yeah, Henry?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital talking to Grumpy," she told him, leaning against the side of the car.

"You need to get to Granny's," Henry replied urgently.

"What? Why?"

"There's been a dust explosion!"

"Dust explosion?! Henry, I don't understand-"

"-Not just any dust, Emma! Fairy dust!"

"Well are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm fine," he answered after a slight hesitation. "I'm with Grandpa! Gotta go! Just hurry up and get here!" Before he put away his walkie-talkie, Emma could have sworn she heard him shout, "Grandpa duck!"

"Henry! Henry!"

All she got in reply was static. Panicking from his hesitation and following shout, Emma unlocked the patrol car and dived in. Starting the engine, she didn't even check her mirrors before reversing out of the parking space. As she changed gear, someone knocked loudly on her window.

"I think you're forgetting someone," Graham called, before walking around the car bonnet and sliding into the passenger seat, giving her a wolfish grin.

"We need to go," Emma blurted, revving the engine.

"Whoa, hold your horses. Care to explain what's going on? Because _I_ thought we were going to find this stolen fairy dust…"

"Newsflash, the dust is at Granny's. Henry's there," Emma muttered, concentrating on driving since she was going at almost double the speed limit.

Chaos reigned at the diner. The tables and chairs outside had been knocked over. Red, Henry and James were hunched over behind the fence, hiding from the animals that had appeared from nowhere and were running rampant around the diner.

Emma and Graham climbed out of the patrol car in a daze.

"What on earth happened?"

"Magic," Red answered Emma. "It's going to take days to right this damage."

"But where did all these chickens come from?"

"Whoever bombed the diner with the fairy dust made the produce come alive. All these chickens…they were the eggs in everyone's breakfast," James explained. "But if you think this is bad, you should see the inside of the diner. Cows, pigs, feathers everywhere. Granny's still trying to shoo them all out."

"I don't get it," Graham muttered. "Why would someone target Granny's with fairy dust?"

"A grudge," Emma suggested.

"Who would have a grudge against Granny though?" James asked. "She's never done a bad thing in her life."

"Can you think of anyone, Red?"

Red thought for a few moments, but there was no-one in Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest who hated her grandmother.

"No, there's no-one," she finally told Graham.

"What about Captain Hook?" Henry interjected.

"What about him?" Emma asked. The grandmother of Red Riding Hood and Captain Hook were totally unrelated, weren't they?"

"Well he and Granny knew each other, didn't they?"

"They did?" Red questioned, shocked and surprised by the revelation.

"They were brother and sister," Henry told them all slowly. "We need to go and get my book."

Red and James stayed behind to clear up the diner and shoo away the rest of the animals, leaving Emma and Graham to take Henry to get his book.

"So if Captain Hook is Granny's brother, why would he want to attack the diner? And why would he steal the fairy dust?" Emma asked.

"They don't get along," her son admitted. "That's why he became a pirate. Look, it's right here in the book." Emma took the book of fairytales from her son's hands and looked for herself. The picture on the left hand side clearly showed a young girl and boy shouting and arguing. But there was no hook on the boy's hand. After pointing that out, Henry said, "He didn't lose his hand until _after _he became a pirate – you know with the crocodile."

"But if he's a pirate, then why is he on land here in Storybrooke and not in a boat out in the sea?"

Henry shrugged. That was something he didn't know the answer to for once. "But I think he's been here a while. Didn't Rumplestiltskin say the other week that someone broke into his shop and stole a hook?"

Graham dug out his notebook and flipped through to find the pages concerning the case Henry was referring to.

"Yep, a hook was in the inventory of items stolen…"

"Thanks, Henry," Emma murmured before turning and saying to Graham, "We need to go and find Hook."

After wandering around town though, Emma and Graham were none the wiser on how to find Hook.

"Alright, come on, let's just go and see him," Emma finally muttered.

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about," she replied, her mouth set in a straight line. She was not keen on the idea, but it was the only one she had.

"Why would going to see Rumplestiltskin help us at all?"

"He knows everything that goes on in this town."

"Fine," Graham sighed, following as Emma led the way to the pawnbroker's shop.

By the time they came out, they had their lead and were heading out across the other side of town to the dingiest bar Storybrooke had. Inside sat a host of storybook characters you would never want to meet. Cruella de Ville, the Blind Witch, the Queen of Hearts, the Pied Piper, Gaston, and finally Captain Hook skulked around the bar.

"Hey, Hook, we want a word," Graham called, earning him and Emma everyone's attention.

"Where's the dust?" Emma asked, plonking herself down on a barstool.

He laughed. "You think I have it?"

"We know you bombed your sister's diner this morning. Where's the rest of the dust you stole from the fairies?"

"I assure you, I don't have it. I admit, I paid my sister a visit and left a surprise behind; but the fairy dust I used was given to me by a…business partner of peculiar origin."

Emma bit her tongue, glaring at the perpetrator. "Who?"

"I don't know her name. I've never even met her in person," he replied, staring into his empty glass.

"Another rum, Smee!" he commanded, thumping his hook onto the bar, sending the bartender scurrying around to fulfil his order.

"How did you get in contact with her?" Emma asked.

"By telephone. What were you expecting? Messages in bottles? Morse Code?" he answered sarcastically, holding his hook up to the dim light to inspect the piece of cork from his mat stuck to the end.

"Enough games," Graham said, stepping forwards and grabbing Hook by the front of his jacket. "Give us the number."

"Oh, I'm so intimidated, Huntsman." Hook yawned. "But I'm feeling generous. Tell you what I'll give you the location of our next meet. It's in, oh about fifteen minutes time."

"Where?" Emma demanded, getting more and more annoyed with him by the second.

"Right here," Hook drawled, gesturing around the bar.

Emma turned to Graham. "So what do we do?"

"We wait and see who turns up," he told her. "We need to find out who's responsible for this. You didn't hear it, but Grumpy made a few threats if we didn't get Nova's fairy dust back to her…"

Emma and Graham settled into a booth at the back of the bar, hidden so far in shadow that anyone who entered probably wouldn't see them.

After exactly twelve minutes, Emma had been checking her watch, the front door opened and someone with a hooded cloak on walked inside. Graham and Emma exchanged a nod, silently counting down. _One. Two. Three. Go! _As one, they stood and leapt towards the hooded person, grabbing them and pulling down the hood of their navy coat, revealing the face of the Mother Superior.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked.

Scrambling for an excuse, the Blue Fairy stuttered.

"Empty your pockets," Emma instructed.

Reluctantly, the Blue Fairy dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out what was left of the fairy dust – a measly hand-sized pouch of it.

"You're coming with us."

Graham cuffed her and they left the Rabbit Hole bar, forcing the former Mother Superior into the patrol car head first.

Emma had no idea where Graham was going as he drove. It still wasn't clear to her when they pulled up outside someone's house. She only realised what Graham was doing when the curtain in one of the windows of the house twitched and she saw Grumpy's face poking through.

"Come on, you," Emma said to the Blue Fairy, helping her out of the car.

"Have you got it?" Grumpy asked eagerly, running out from the house with Nova hot on his heels.

"This," Graham replied, holding up the pouch of fairy dust, "is all that's left of it, but yes."

"Who stole it?" Nova asked.

"You're looking at her," Emma told them, nodding towards the cuffed fairy.

Nova gasped and staggered into Grumpy's arms, the two of them stunned by the Blue Fairy's villainy. Emma herself didn't even understand it. It was a complete and total mystery. A fairy dust mystery.

* * *

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt chapter (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Whole town chapter (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: So let me know what you think!  
**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxxxx  
**


	11. Dance with Somebody

**A/N: Hey, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Quick thanks go to red lighting, miley-avril and the three anonymous reviewers for reviewing the last chapter! Let me know what you guys think of this one! **

* * *

**Dance with Somebody**

Emma sighed as she checked her reflection in the mirror for the fifth time. Why she had to do it, she didn't know. The whole notion of the idea was just ridiculous. If she'd had it her way, she would have dismissed the idea and refused to attend the party, but Graham and Henry had twisted her arm and she'd found herself telling her parents that she'd be there.

She thought back to the day she'd begun to suspect that Snow and James were plotting something.

_It had been about two weeks before when she'd come down to breakfast only to find them whispering quickly. The moment they saw her, both of them stopped and looked up from the closeted position they had been sat in, heads inclined to one another. _

"_Emma!" Snow said with obvious surprise. "I thought you were going to have a lie in."_

"_Got a call at the station," she replied, grabbing her coat off the hook by the door before dashing over to the table and stealing a piece of toast off James' plate. _

"_Do you want me to come with you?" James asked, standing up from his stool. Since the episode with the beanstalk, James had become something like Emma's deputy at the station. _

_Emma shook her head in reply. "Graham was the one who phoned me. He's already there."_

_It had been only a week later when her parents had confronted her about what they'd planned, sitting her down on the sofa._

"_Emma," Snow said slowly, prepared for how reluctant she knew Emma would be. However, the tone of her voice just reminded Emma of Henry when he was trying to get her to buy him something. "Could we talk to you about something?"_

"_I guess," she responded, dropping the newspaper she'd picked up on her way home onto the coffee table. _

"_There's a tradition we had back in the Enchanted Forest," James began. "On a princess' eighteenth birthday-"_

"_-Oh no, I know where this is going-" Emma interrupted before being cut off by Snow._

"_-Before you say anything, please just let us finish."_

"_But I know what you're going to say and the answer is no. No I will not get engaged or have an arranged marriage!" Emma crossed her arms and stared straight ahead, determined not to give in her argument._

_But when Snow and James both burst out laughing, she had to look at them._

"_We don't want you to have an arranged marriage. We never would have made you," James said, still chuckling slightly. "We were trying to tell you about the ball we've organised for you."_

"_Ball?" Emma asked in horror. They hadn't, had they? Did they honestly expect her to wear a ball gown? And where the heck was she going to get a ball gown from? _

"_Just think about it," Snow told her softly. "You've missed out on so much. Ella and I used to love a good ball. You'd have had one in your honour for your eighteenth birthday party and your father and I would still like you to have one in your honour."_

Thought about it, Emma had. She was still thinking about it. Her parents had invited the whole town. Even Rumplestiltskin would be there. And Eric and Ariel, they were coming. Thinking about it was positively terrifying.

Gathering her courage for what would probably be an evening perpetuated by awkward conversations and encounters, Emma slid her feet into her red patent shoes and grabbed her clutch bag off the bed, rifling through it briefly to make sure she had everything.

As she left the bedroom and walked down the stairs, someone knocked at the door. She already knew who it would be. Henry had left with his grandparents earlier, looking adorable in suit, to set up the town hall for the party. It could only be Graham wanting to escort her.

As she opened the door, Graham's eyes went wide and a low whistle came from his mouth.

"Emma…you-you look incredible," he stammered, staring at her curves in the red, body-con dress she'd dug out for the occasion.

"Thanks," Emma muttered.

Proffering her his arm, Graham stepped to the side to allow Emma out the door of the apartment she was still sharing with her parents and son. Emma took his arm with a small smile. Since the storm two days before, she'd gotten used to having him around again. She found she was getting used to a lot of things. Her parents for one. It wasn't perfect, but at least she could call them by their real names now. She was getting better and better at remembering everyone's real identities – having Graham or James with her at the station helped on that front.

As they walked to the town hall, Emma couldn't help looking for the damage caused by the storm, but there was none which was confusing as the day before there had still been broken fences, downed telephone poles and fallen trees – the whole shebang.

Noticing her looking, Graham told her, "Your parents asked the fairies to clear it all up – even managed to procure some fairy dust from somewhere. I don't think they wanted anything to ruin your night."

When they arrived at the town hall, they weren't the first attendants nor were they the last. Emma could hear _I Wanna Dance With Somebody _blaring out through some speakers, and as they entered coming in sight of the party guests and the red, blue and yellow light reflecting off the disco ball hanging from the ceiling, Emma couldn't help but be reminded of a crappy high school reunion.

Voicing the thought to Graham, he replied curtly, "Be nice. They've put a lot of thought and effort into this and this world has limited resources. After all, we're in the middle of nowhere and we can't leave the town still."

"Mom! Mom!" Henry called, running over and almost slipping on the polished wooden floor. "I did the streamers! Do you like it?"

Steadying him, Emma looked at the multi-coloured paper curled and hanging behind the buffet table and answered, "The streamers look great, Henry!"

"Emma, you made it!" someone squealed before enveloping her in a hug from behind. Seeing the wine red nail varnish on the hands around her shoulders, Emma knew it could only be Red.

"Yep, I did," she laughed, turning and smiling at her.

"Let's dance, Mom!" Henry said excitedly, grabbing Emma's hands and pulling her out further into the room away from the door. Graham stood with Snow and James, laughing at Henry trying unsuccessfully to twirl Emma only to have Emma stop him and twirl him instead.

Emma shot them all a look.

Deciding to save her, Graham stepped forwards. "Mind if I cut in?"

Henry beamed at Graham and let go of Emma's hands, charging over to Snow and into her arms.

"Thanks, he kept stepping on my toes," Emma murmured as Graham slid his hands around her waist.

As they shuffled around underneath the glitter ball, Emma noticed James getting onto one knee and holding his hand out to Snow. The next time she looked, they were both whirling expertly around the room, seemingly in competition with Ella and Thomas. Ella grinned and waved at her as they danced past.

"This is completely crazy," Emma muttered.

"Really? This is the first ball-slash-party I've ever been to… Aren't they all like this?" Graham asked as Grumpy went to ask Nova to dance, looking almost bashful and then relieved as she half-jumped, half-flew into his arms.

As the song faded, Emma looked over to the DJ station set up in the corner, noticing _Jiminy _on the disks.

"Do you want a drink?" Graham asked, letting go of her waist.

"Sure," she replied, walking with him to the buffet table where various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were being distributed by Sleepy. Despite nodding off every few seconds, the stock of drinks had already been severely depleted, except for the cider, of course, which everyone appeared to be avoiding as though Sneezy had gotten too close to it.

Emma had just received a plastic cup filled with beer when someone backed into her, sending it slopping over her arm and feet.

"Emma!" August exclaimed. "I'm sorry we didn't see you," he continued, gesturing to himself and Red.

"Sorry who are you?" Graham asked.

"Oh, Graham, Pinocchio. Pinocchio, Graham," Emma said, introducing them. For a moment she worried that it would be awkward. She'd never discussed it with August, but he had to know something of her feelings for Graham. And though she felt like the relationship she had with August was that of a brother and sister, she wasn't sure if he felt the same.

"Hi…"

Emma winced. Graham was clearly on his guard around August.

"Call me August," Pinocchio replied, slinging an arm around Red's shoulders as she swayed and knocked into him. "I prefer it."

"August, let's dance again," Red said, shooting Emma a giddy, drunken grin. "And you can tell me about lemurs too!"

Emma relaxed slightly. It looked like Red and August were hooking up.

"Gotta go," August muttered as he left with Red, flashing them both a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Emma, did you see-"

"-Uh huh," Emma replied, cutting off her mother, still looking at August and Red hugging and dancing. "Never saw that coming."

"I did," Ella stated, surprising them all as they hadn't seen her approaching. "Red's had a bit of a crush for a while," she explained.

Snow and Ella began gossiping about their friend and August, the two of them happy that she might have found love again after the tragedy with Peter.

When Jiminy slowed the music, playing a ballad, Graham took Emma's drink from her hands and placed it on the table behind them before leading her back into the dancing. He pulled her close and kissed her cheek.

Surprisingly, Emma enjoyed herself that night. No-one bothered her whilst she was dancing with Graham. And it wasn't awkward at all.

* * *

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch hunt chapter (Chapter 12) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Dust Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks also go to the anonymous reviewer who asked to see August and Graham meet. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Leave a review if you've got time because I'd love to know what you thought.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxx**


	12. Witch Hunt

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I'd like to say a quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to favourites and alerts. Thanks for prompting this chapter also go to Linzerj and Obsessive-Gal. I merged the two suggestions together in this chapter. And to the anonymous reviewer who asked about Regina, hopefully this answers your question.**

* * *

**Witch Hunt**

Emma, Henry, Snow and Charming had barely gotten home from the hospital and settled into the apartment, Emma and Henry collapsing into the couch together and Snow and Charming looking on with smiles from the seats at the kitchen counter, when someone knocked on the front door.

James frowned at Snow, wondering who could be calling on them so late, before crossing to the door and pulling it open to reveal Rumplestiltskin of all people.

"Stiltskin!" James exclaimed angrily.

"Good evening," he said calmly, not rising to the prince's anger. "Perhaps I could come in?" When James didn't reply but continued to glare furiously, he added, "Or not."

"What do you want?" James growled.

"The mob is amassing in front of _Madame_ _Mayor's_ house. I thought you might like to join your people-"

Not allowing him to finish, James pushed past the man and stormed out of the house. Jumping up, Snow ran after him.

"James, wait!"

Henry turned to look worriedly at Emma.

"Come on, kid, I think we better go."

Henry nodded frantically and leapt off the couch, racing to the door with Emma and rushing past a gleeful Mr Gold limping down the steps. Emma was so focused on stopping whatever drama had hit the town now that she almost forgot to shut and lock the front door.

She didn't quite believe her eyes when they arrived at Regina's house. Though the lit torches and pitchforks were missing, it looked just like a medieval witch hunt, the whole town seemingly gathered outside and shouting abuse at the woman locked within.

"Come out here and face us!" Leroy shouted.

A cloud of purple smoke appeared and Regina stepped out of it.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked sarcastically, leering at the townspeople.

"You stole my life!" somebody bellowed, raising a fist into the air.

"You witch!" On and on it went, and the entire time she stood watching, Emma was seeking out Mary Margaret and David. She didn't want them to do anything stupid. She was still the Sheriff and if the mob went too far she'd be forced to make some arrests. Finally, she was forced into action, rushing forwards as someone picked up a stone and lobbed it at a window, easily shattering it.

"Give me my daughter back! Give me Grace!" Jefferson cried, rushing forwards and grabbing for Regina's neck only for her to disappear and reappear some two feet away, laughing at the townspeople's inability to do anything serious to her.

"I must thank you, Rumple. Now that magic's back, I have all my old power."

"Yes, but it's still not enough to overcome me, Dearie!" Mr Gold declared, limping past Emma and Henry without even giving them a cursory glance to come to stand in front of Regina.

"What are you going to do? Is this about Belle, precious Belle?"

From the sneer on her face, it was clear that Regina was enjoying herself.

"Belle?" Emma muttered. "Who's Belle?"

"Rumplestiltskin's true love," Henry answered quietly, staring fearfully at the face-off between his adoptive mother and the man who was quite possibly the worst villain of them all.

Mr Gold grimaced at her, before unleashing magic of his own. "It was you. You took her from me!"

"You old sap," Regina snarled, dodging the black cloud he had sent her way. The stream of magic instead hit one of her precious apple trees, reducing it to ash. Maddened, Regina retaliated with more of her own magic, setting Mr Gold's suit jacket on fire when he couldn't avoid the spell in time with his bad leg.

As quick as he could, Mr Gold shucked off the jacket and threw it on the ground, allowing it to burn.

"Stop this before someone gets hurt!" Emma called from a distance, unwilling to step into the line of fire.

"This doesn't concern you, Miss Swan!" Mr Gold shouted. "She locked away my Belle! And she's going to pay for it."

"Rumplestiltskin!" a young girl shouted, stepping through the crowd. "Stop this!"

"Belle-" he began before being cut off by the girl herself.

"-No, you have to stop. You can't let the monster overtake you…" Crossing to him, she rubbed her hands over his shoulders. "I'm right here. I'm fine, I promise."

"Belle?"

"Yes, my love," she answered, before pressing her lips to his.

"There's something nobody wanted to see," Emma muttered, averting her eyes and using the moment to make sure that Henry was still with her. She did her best to give him a reassuring smile.

"So that's Belle, huh?"

Henry nodded.

"Well, she's brave."

Henry nodded again. "You have to read the story to know the full extent of her courage."

"Later, I swear-" she told him before pausing as David rushed through the crowd with Mary Margaret hanging onto his arm and trying desperately to pull him back.

"You!" he exclaimed, reaching to his hip for the sword that wasn't there. Emma felt ever so slightly guilty upon remembering she had left it in the library basement. "You!" he repeated, apparently so enraged that he could barely speak.

"Yes, _Charming_?"

"You ripped our family apart! You separated us for twenty eight years! My daughter! She grew up without a family and it's all your fault!"

"Oh, boo hoo! I lost my true love and it's all _her_ fault!" Regina responded, pointing at Mary Margaret.

"What? What did Mary Margaret do?"

"I've told you I'm sorry, Regina. I was just a child. I thought I was helping you. I didn't know, I swear. I never would have told your mother about Daniel had I known what she would do."

David clasped his wife's hand, the two of them finally standing together against Regina.

"You ruined our lives – everyone's lives – and we won't stand for it," David finally said.

"Stop arguing!" Henry shouted, running forwards as Regina readied her hands for a spell.

Before Emma could move, Regina had sent the spell she'd been aiming at Snow onto Henry, lifting him into the air.

A strangled cry came from Henry's throat.

"Put him down!" Emma and Mary Margaret shouted at the same town, the rest of the townsfolk echoing their indignant cries.

"I may have lost Daniel but I won't lose Henry too."

"He's not yours to lose," David asserted, starting forwards to help his grandson.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Henry yelled, his eyes closed in fear.

Regina released Henry, but the instant his feet touched the ground; he ran to Emma and practically jumped into her awaiting arms.

"Henry?" Regina asked, looking heart-broken at his rejection. Feeling the citizens of Storybrooke staring at her, Regina turned and disappeared in another cloud of purple smoke.

"I think you should all return to your homes," David advised after crossing to his daughter and grandson and enveloping them in an awkward group hug that Mary Margaret quickly joined.

"What do we do now? Where's the Enchanted Forest gone?" Mr Clark said thickly.

"We'll figure it out, Sneezy," Mary Margaret promised. "For now, perhaps it's best to resume our Storybrooke lives."

Reluctantly, one by one the townspeople left until it was just Emma, Henry, David and Mary Margaret stood outside the big white house. Looking worriedly over her shoulder at the house, Mary Margaret was the last to begin walking back to her small apartment, following after the others, sure that their confrontation with her stepmother wasn't over.

* * *

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**Jiminy Cricket chapter (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have so please leave a review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxx**


	13. A Bug's Life

**A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating recently. I was really busy with preparations for moving and going to university and then a little overwhelmed when I finally got here. Sorry! Anyway, this chapter was prompted by Linzerj. Apologies for the title, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up and I just couldn't resist the temptation. :P Hope you enjoy the chapter. **

* * *

**A Bug's Life**

When Emma woke up, the house was quiet. Great, so she'd overslept again and missed seeing Henry off to school. Not only that, but she'd missed out on breakfast and would have to try to scrounge something from Granny's on her way to work, which would be awkward seeing as Ruby would be waitressing and Emma hadn't spoken to her since the whole wolf incident.

Sighing, Emma rolled out of bed and rushed about to get ready, aware that the clock on her dresser said it was already almost nine, pulling a comb through her curls whilst using her other hand to grab her black boots. She ran down the stairs with her boots still unzipped, finally doing them up as she pulled on one of her jackets and jogged out the front door to her car.

She knew she was pushing the speed limit, but she also knew that if she didn't hurry up and get to work, she'd have a backlog of people and problems to deal with.

Four days later and life was still hectic.

Hurrying into Granny's diner, Emma pushed past Dr Whale with a nod and averted her eyes as she passed by Ruby to seat herself in one of the stools, busying herself with a menu.

"Miss Swan!" someone suddenly exclaimed.

Looking up, Emma found herself face to face with Archie.

"Archie," she greeted.

He smiled kindly.

"Oh, sorry, it's Jiminy, isn't it?" she asked, her voice plagued by uncertainty. Only vaguely did she recall Henry mentioning the name in connection with the town's shrink. Plus, remembering everyone's names was becoming increasingly difficult in Storybrooke. Emma didn't remember there being so many fairytale characters in her childhood storybooks. "I think you should book an appointment for me," she joked.

"Well, my office is always open, though rather crowded at the moment," he replied with a shrug, taking her literally.

"You too, huh? The phones have been ringing off the hook at the station."

"Well, everybody's confused and needs help. You're just one of the people they're turning to. But if you do need to see me, you are welcome any time. I imagine twenty eight years without any parents creates some rather big, er, abandonment issues. Pinocchio tells me things aren't going so well with your parents."

"God, he really doesn't know when to shut up, does he?" she moaned, accepting a bear claw and a cocoa with cinnamon from Granny with confusion as she hadn't even placed an order yet.

"Can I get a latte?" Jiminy asked Granny before turning back to Emma. "He's just concerned for you, he's your friend."

"It's fine though. He's totally over-reacting. It was just an argument." If there was one thing in the world Emma didn't want, it was a family shrink session.

He gave her a look of pity.

"What?" Emma asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Jiminy replied, just a tad too quickly. "Your parents don't agree with you," he mumbled, caving under her glare. It was no wonder Emma was such a successful interrogator. Even without her supernatural ability to tell when people were lying, Emma's fiercely piercing eyes would be enough.

Biting her tongue, Emma stood and left, reluctant to run her mouth and say something she would later regret. Her cocoa was lukewarm by the time she got through the doors and slumped into the chair at her desk, still angrily obsessing over what Jiminy had admitted.

She hadn't been overreacting when she told them she didn't want to be set up with someone and she certainly wasn't overreacting about then about them telling Archie personal information. She was an adult. Her life was just that: _her _life.

Sighing, she pushed aside the thoughts and turned her mind to her current case – reuniting Jefferson with his daughter, opening the file she had begun creating.

After a visit and two phone calls she was no closer to even persuading the girl's parents to at least allow Jefferson access and visiting rights. And it wasn't like she could really contact a higher authority. The matter of curses and fairytale characters complicated everything.

Placing some 'MISSING' posters up for Tom Thumb, Emma found herself suddenly face to face with her parents and Jiminy.

"Emma-" the three of them said at the same time before she cut in.

"-What is this? An intervention?" she asked derisively.

"Yes, actually," James answered. "We need to talk about this and we can't do it if you keep shutting us out."

"I'm not shutting you out. I'm asking you not to interfere in my private life. There's a difference," Emma said, correcting him as she stapled yet another poster to a tree.

"But we're your family," Snow argued. "We're part of your life now, Emma-"

"That doesn't mean you can try and set me up with August when he's right there!"

"Keep calm, Emma," Jiminy interrupted.

"We're just friends," Emma continued, shooting Jiminy a look.

"Okay, point taken, perhaps we were a bit forward," James said.

"We just want you to be happy," Snow added gently. "In our world you'd have had a choice of suitors, all vying for your hand-"

"-Brilliant. Just what I want. To be sold to the highest bidder."

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed in shock.

"Of all people we believe in true love more than most – we would have let you follow your heart and we still will, in this world and the next."

Emma rolled her eyes at David's words and returned her attention to her posters.

"Your parents are trying to talk to you, Emma. It would be wise to listen," Jiminy said, finally stepping in to mediate the situation.

* * *

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Mad Hatter chapter (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Regina chapter (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: Sorry again for how late this chapter is. It's perhaps not quite as finished as I would have liked, but I had to give you guys something, didn't I? Unfortunately, I have no idea whatsoever when the next chapter will be coming, as****I haven't started actual lectures or anything yet and I don't know how much free time I'm going to have. I will do my best to get an update up every week but it may not happen. Thanks if you have stuck with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (and the premiere of season 2 – t'was awesome). I'd really appreciate some thoughts on it – the chapter not the premiere…though you can talk to me about that if you want to. :P**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxx**


	14. Fathers

**A/N: So, here's the next, long-awaited update. I'm probably going to be updating my stories on weekends, though since I have two on the go at the moment, it may mean that they have to alternate and each get updated once every two weeks. I don't know. It's still only been my first week of lectures, so I'll just have to see how it plays out. **

**This chapter was prompted by Obsessive-Gal. I hope you guys like it! If you do, it's all down to Obsessive-Gal who asked for both of the main parts of this chapter.**

* * *

**Fathers**

Emma picked up her keys and left the office, mentally preparing herself and running over what she was going to say.

_Mr and Mrs Miller, I do apologise for any inconvenience. Could I come in?_

Over and over it she went, trying to get it to sound right. She had to get it right. If she didn't, the little girl would be separated from her father.

When she turned up outside the small house, she was still thinking it over. Up the front steps, fingers hovering over the doorbell as she continued to internally dither. Finally, growing sick of her own indecision, she dived in and pushed the doorbell, hearing it ring inside the hallway.

Her foot tapped as she waited for them to answer, eventually seeing the silhouettes of two people coming towards her through the frosted glass pane in the door.

As the door swung open, similar expressions of surprise appeared on both Mr Miller and his wife's faces.

"Sheriff Swan? What can we do for you?" Mr Miller asked, frowning ever so slightly.

"It's a…delicate matter. May I come in?"

"Of course," Mrs Miller replied, stepping aside and admitting Emma into the homely hallway. "The living room is right on through here, do take a seat. I'll just fix you a drink."

Emma nodded gratefully and headed into the room Mrs Miller had indicated, feeling awkward as she spied Paige, the girl in question, sat at the table in the adjoined dining room, dutifully doing her homework.

She shot Mr Miller a small smile as the two of them waited in silence for his wife to return before beginning the conversation.

Mrs Miller, a short woman with mousy brown hair, entered with a warm smile, bearing three steaming mugs on a tray. Emma accepted her coffee with a thank you and took a sip, glancing again at Paige and wondering how much of their conversation she would hear.

Following her gaze, Mr Miller cleared his throat and said, "Grace, perhaps you could take your things upstairs and work up there for a while."

Nodding obediently, the girl gathered her notepad, her books and her stationary before getting up from the table and vacating the room. For a girl who didn't look any older than Henry, she was the source of a lot of trouble. Emma had already spent hours on the phone with Jefferson, the Millers and even Mr Gold, all of them trying to work out whether Jefferson or the Millers had custody rights. Yet, no conclusion could be reached.

"I'm here to discuss again who should have custody of Paige," Emma began, setting her coffee aside and looking intently at the Millers.

Mr Miller nodded, the nature of Emma's visit fairly obvious.

Mrs Miller, on the other hand, was less understanding. "You can tell Jefferson he's not having Grace. We may not be her biological parents, but we've been looking after her for over twenty eight years. Our lives in Storybrooke _are_ real, and we've looked after and raised Paige her whole life. She _is _my daughter."

In a comforting gesture, Mr Miller took his wife's hand and squeezed it tight.

"I understand-"

Emma never finished her sentence, losing her train of thought as Jefferson forced the front door open and burst in, calling for his daughter.

"Grace! Grace, where are you?"

Hearing him, the young girl ran down the stairs and threw herself into her father's arms.

Laughing in relief, Jefferson hugged her tight. Tears of happiness leaked from his eyes as he held his daughter for the first time in years, lifting her off the ground.

"How dare you break into our home?!" Mrs Miller demanded, looking angrily at her former neighbour.

Both Emma and Mr Miller stood and moved to intervene as Jefferson set down Paige and moved to stand protectively in front of her.

"She's my daughter and she's coming with me," he declared.

Wincing, Emma prepared herself for the argument she knew would follow, wishing Jefferson could have left it to her. He was only getting in the way and making things worse.

"Your daughter? You abandoned her!" Mrs Miller accused.

"I had to!" Jefferson shouted back.

"That doesn't excuse your behaviour-"

"-I thought I was coming back. It was only meant to be a couple of hours. How was I to know the Evil Queen would trap me in Wonderland?"

"Well, it would hardly have been a surprise, surely," Mr Miller muttered. "She is the _Evil _Queen, after all."

_Not you too_, Emma thought as Mr Miller was embroiled in the argument.

The three fairytale characters continued to rant and rave until finally Emma had had enough.

"Stop! All of you! Jefferson, I need to see you outside."

Giving her a moody look, Jefferson stomped out of the house with Emma at his heels. The instant they were out of earshot, Emma started.

"Will you please stop. You're not helping yourself or the situation."

"That's my daughter in there," Jefferson vehemently protested, gesticulating in the direction of the front door hanging off its hinges.

"I know, but if you keep acting like this you won't get to see her at all. No sane person is going to let you have custody if you continue to act like a madman," Emma said, doing her best to stay calm and not poke him in the chest whilst she reasoned with him.

"Have you forgotten? I am a madman," Jefferson replied, whipping a top hat from nowhere and placing it on his head. "The Mad Hatter, to be precise."

"Again, not helping. Could you just, you know, rationally discuss it with them?"

"Fine," Jefferson sighed, his manic grin fading as he removed the hat and threw it away. Emma's eyes followed it until the hat winked out of existence, disappearing into thin air. A week before she wouldn't have believed her eyes; but on that day she didn't even question the phenomenon.

As they re-entered the house, happening upon Mr and Mrs Miller sat on either side of Paige and consoling her.

"I want to be with all of you," she sniffled.

"Grace," whispered Jefferson, looking tortured and desperate.

"Perhaps it would be possible to arrange a custody agreement," Emma suggested hopefully.

The Millers shared a look before Mr Miller announced, "I think we could manage that. What do you say, Hatter?"

Jefferson nodded and took a seat opposite the Millers.

"How are we going to do this then? Alternate weeks?"

Job done, Emma allowed herself a smile and slipped out of the house. Checking her watch, she decided to look in on Henry, still stuck at home with flu. The drive in her yellow bug was short, but as she cut the engine, she couldn't help noticing the figure waiting at the end of the path to the front door.

Frowning, she stepped out and froze, recognising him the instant he turned to face her.

"Emma," he said, his voice filled with feigned fondness.

"Shouldn't you be with your wife?" Emma asked quietly.

"Who? Rachel?"

"Francis," Emma answered, quietly wondering what number Rachel was. When she'd met Marcus, he'd been with Francis and enjoyed having Emma on the side. Marcus had always seemed to have a few conquests on the go, getting bored every few months and marrying someone new.

"Francis is long gone," he replied seriously. "I came to see my son."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near Henry, Marcus" Emma told him frankly, looking distastefully at his dyed beard and hair. Emma considered herself lucky to have escaped Marcus before something terrible had happened to her. She knew what he'd done to the women before her, and likely the unfortunate ones after her. The vision of the room still sickened her.

"I think we can drop the name now, don't you? I'd have thought you'd have figured me out by now, the curse being broken and all…"

Emma said nothing. In truth, she hadn't considered Marcus for months, not since she'd lied and told Henry his father had been a fireman, a hero who'd sacrificed his life for someone else.

* * *

**A timeline so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Regina chapter (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd really appreciate some thoughts on this. I'm also willing to bribe you with the knowledge that it's my birthday in two days' time. I've left a few clues as to Marcus' fairytale counterpart so I'd love to hear some of your guesses. (It's not anyone previously introduced in the show.) If no-one gets it, I will find a way to either include it in another chapter or just say in the next author's note. I'm still looking for prompts since I've only got one more chapter planned, so if you've got any ideas, let me know either by review or PM.**

**Many thanks for reading. Much love, SabreDae.**

**xxxxxxxxxxx**


	15. Making Mischief

**A/N: Hey, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing this story. It really means a lot. If any of you are interested, I have a YouTube channel with quite a few Once fanvids on there now. There's a Gremma, a Snowing, a RumBelle, something focused on Regina, a video about Emma and Henry's relationship and a video on the show in general. My Channel is under the name PromptingShizzle and there will be more videos to come, like the Emma/Snow one I'm currently working on. I also don't mind taking requests for videos, if you can provide a song and a character or two. Anyway, onto the chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

**Making Mischief**

Emma and Graham hurried out of the Sheriff Station and got into the Patrol car. Emma would much rather have gone alone, but it was Regina she was dealing with this time, not Jefferson or Red. Having backup made sense, even if it meant trying to ignore how awkward she still felt around the formerly dead Sheriff.

Emma floored the accelerator, and turned on the sirens, justifying her speeding as an emergency. There was no way she would leave Henry at the school with that woman. Never.

Graham gripped the door handle, a little afraid of the speed and intensity with which Emma was driving, though he was wise enough not to say anything or ask her to slow down. As soon as they pulled up outside the school, Emma threw open the door and leapt out, already running. Flames leapt up the outside of the school building, the children and teachers evacuated out onto the playground but cowering in fear as trees stood guard, threatening to whip anyone who moved.

As she ran, hell-bent on reaching Henry before Regina could take him, Emma searched for Snow, but couldn't see her in the crowds either. Why the Evil Queen couldn't have just stayed in hiding, she didn't know. Everyone, the whole town had been happy whilst she was gone, hiding out in the woods somewhere.

Graham was left to rush after, hurrying along in her wake, only just keeping pace with Emma's feet. Feeling slower than usual, he knew he had to do some more cardio, get fitter.

Emma didn't know what was leading her, but somehow she just knew that her son was trapped inside the burning building and some puny flames weren't going to stop her from reaching him. She didn't even hear Graham calling after her as she literally diving through a window blown out by fire, landing on the floor of a classroom with the ends of her hair smoking and scorch marks all over her leather jacket.

She couldn't stop herself calling out for Henry as she staggered to her feet and inhaled a mouthful of smoke, coughing as it filled her lungs and burnt her throat.

With no shouted answer, Emma began her search, systematically working her way through the classrooms, finally coming across Henry, Snow and Regina in the gym, one of the less damaged rooms. Smoke was seeping under the doors but the room itself had yet to catch fire.

Snow saw her but was tactful enough not to yell out, "Emma!" She needn't have bothered.

Before Emma had even taken a step, Regina said, "You just had to butt in didn't you, Miss Swan?"

"Step away from my son," Emma warned, approaching with determined strides.

"Your son?! Who raised him? _I _did!"

Henry looked helplessly between the two women and was suddenly grateful for the fact that Snow was holding his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

The two women were in a full-on argument by the time Graham ran in, wheezing after running through the whole smoke-filled school in search of Emma and her family. Drawing in a few haggard breaths he fell forwards, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to learn how to breathe oxygen again.

"So it's true," Regina drawled. "I'd heard rumours you'd returned, Huntsman."

Standing to his full height, Graham locked eyes with the Evil Queen. "It's Graham, thanks," he told her cuttingly, biting the inside of his cheek as she pulled a mocking facial expression at his tone. He'd had dealings with the queen before and knew that being rash would get him nowhere in securing Emma, Snow and Henry's safety. "What do you want?"

"My son," Regina answered simply. "And I won't be leaving without him."

"Well you won't be leaving with him either," Emma interrupted.

"And how are you going to stop me, Miss Swan? Tell me, can you do this?"

Without any further ado, Regina turned, disappearing in a cloud of smoke much like the one that had rolled over the town mere moments after Emma and Henry had broken the curse. Emma wheeled around, searching for Regina with one of her hands already on her holstered gun. Graham crossed the room and stood behind Emma, the two of them covering all angles. Emma couldn't help jumping as Regina appeared suddenly right in front of her, leering in her face before laughing at her reaction.

"How about this?" Regina asked, pointing at one of the gym mats and sending it flying through the air towards them. It passed harmlessly through Regina but Emma and Graham both had to duck to avoid being hit by the object. "Or this?" Emma didn't have to look to know that Regina had lifted Graham into the air by an invisible grip around his throat. The sounds of him choking were a big enough clue.

"You know I can't," Emma replied, gritting her teeth as she tried to desperately think of some sort of plan. She had to find some way to level the playing field, to make thing more even between her and Regina.

"Then, pray tell me, how exactly are you going to stop me walking out of this room with Henry at my side?"

With no answers left, Emma pulled out her gun and levelled the weapon at Regina's head.

"You really don't want to do that."

Not heeding her words, Emma squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet hurtling towards Regina. A moment of confusion followed, as somehow the bullet turned in mid-air, as though it had collided with some sort of invisible force field, and sped towards Snow. Emma didn't even know, the bullet moving too quickly for the eye to see. She had been under no misconception as to Regina's magical ability and had been prepared for the possibility of Regina avoiding the bullet. She had already dropped the gun and sprinted towards Regina as soon as she had fired.

Whilst Regina was recovering from sending the bullet towards her step-daughter, Emma grabbed her arms and brought them around behind her. Graham dropped to the floor, massaging his throat and trying to refrain from gulping down fresh air.

Able to relax somewhat, Emma shot Snow and Henry a look to make sure they were okay and was shocked to find her mother lying on the floor, gripping her shoulder, with Henry at her side looking helpless.

"Perhaps another time," Regina hissed before disappearing again.

Forgetting about her, Emma rushed to Snow's fallen form and fell down at her side.

"Snow?"

She didn't answer.

"Snow, are you okay? Mom, answer me!"

"Bullet just scraped my shoulder," she finally answered.

Relief flooded through Emma.

A slow smile spread over Snow's face. "You called me Mom," she whispered happily.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Emma muttered, taking Snow's other arm and pulling her up now that she knew she wasn't seriously injured.

* * *

**A timeline so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks late**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Making Mischief (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I really would be psyched if some of you guys would check out my YouTube videos and perhaps comment, even if you don't like them because I would like to get better at making fanvids. Any thoughts on this chapter would also be very appreciated. Nobody guessed the correct fairytale identity of Henry's father last chapter, so I'm going to write another chapter with him in it at some point. **

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	16. Bluebeard

**A/N: Hey guys. I really do apologise for not updating recently. Unfortunately I had a sudden influx of assessed university work to do. I'm still in the middle of some of it, with a Latin translation and an archaeology assignment due in around the same sort of time in about a week so I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be written, given that I'm also working now too. Anyways, I said I would do another chapter with Marcus so here it is! It carries straight on from his last appearance. I hope you enjoy the way I've twisted the story.**

* * *

"I think we can drop the name now, don't you? I'd have thought you'd have figured me out by now, the curse being broken and all…" Marcus' lip curled as he watched Emma battle to keep her eyes from showing her confusion. It entertained him to see the effect he had on them, all the women he met. "Come on, Emma, call me by my real name. I know you know it. You saw the room, you saw them."

"What do you want, Bluebeard?" Emma finally asked.

"I think you know."

Emma shuddered internally, only just managing to keep her reaction from taking over her whole body. Of course she knew.

"You were the one that got away, Emma Swan," Bluebeard continued. "The rest of them stay with me, everywhere I go." Emma's stomach churned as she followed the flicker of his eyes towards the trunk of his car. She'd seen her fair share of the gruesome in her time, especially during her younger years when she'd been car-jacking, managing to find her way into criminal rings and during her sentence in prison. She always thought was had a strong stomach, but anyone would be repulsed by the things she'd seen and knew. The thought of so many women's pictures, all of them dead, in the car would have made anyone feel sick.

She'd been attracted to Marcus by the sight of his car. The silver Mercedes E500 parked outside 'Dan's Bar' would have caught anybody's eye, even if the man inside it hadn't been lounging in his seat with an arm dangling out the window, casually dragging on a cigarette. Young and poor, Emma would have been attracted to Marcus' wealth even if he looked like an ogre. As her luck would have it, he'd always looked god-damn suave in his suits, the silk lapels only accentuating his natural rugged good looks.

She should have known he was too good to be true; even if he had treated her like a princess the instant he saw her, ignoring the mud-stains that ran the entire way round the legs of her jeans, the slight tears and fraying of her jacket.

_The mid-autumn chill sunk into her bones, easily negating her cheap and flimsy jacket. She was dying for a drink to warm her up, but the slight jangle of her few coins was enough to remind her that she had to save them for food. She couldn't afford both, nor could she afford to indulge her growing liking for alcohol. An eighteen year old living on the streets couldn't afford an alcohol addiction, even if it might temporarily make the situation seem better. _

_Catching sight of the car, Emma shivered, looking at the heater dial on the dashboard. She'd have given anything to be in the warmth of the car. But there was no way a guy like him would offer her a drag of his cigarette, let alone trust her to sit in his car. Everyone who walked past Emma tended to avoid her like the plague. She was accustomed to people pretending she didn't exist. _

"_Want a lift somewhere?"_

_Emma kept on walking with her head down. _

"_Sure I can't help?"_

_The second time she looked up, scanning the street before looking back uncertainly at him leaning his head out the window and staring at her. The closest people were on the other side of the street. There was no way he could be talking to her, was there? He couldn't seriously be offering her a ride. Whilst she was filled with disbelief, her instincts told her his offer was genuine. She'd read enough news stories though, to know that rides with strangers were best to ignore, no matter what your instincts screamed at you._

"_I'll be fine," she muttered finally, the way he was regarding her making her duck her head again._

_He continued to observe her before opening his car door and stepping out, only to lean against the bonnet, half-sitting on it. _

"_Why do I get the feeling you've got nowhere to stay?"_

_Emma shrugged, unwilling to tell him that his assumption was correct. _

How exactly she had ended up agreeing to his proposal for her to use his second home for a couple of days, Emma still didn't know. She could remember the quiet car journey through the streets until they reached his apartment block. He'd accompanied her up, shown her to the spare bedroom and then left, barely pausing to explain that the wardrobe was fully stocked with women's clothes since he often let his personal assistant use the apartment whenever she rowed with her boyfriend. At the time, Emma hadn't questioned it. She didn't ask Marcus about it when he popped in a mere day later 'just to check on her'.

He'd told her right from the off that he was married, though he made sure to mention every now and again that he and Francis had been having problems for months. Standing there outside the apartment that she had been sharing with Mary Margaret, Emma still marvelled at the way he had played her, starting with an innocent request, getting her used to him gradually by coming over as he 'passed by' to make sure she didn't need anything. It was an art, but he exacted everything with a science.

_She didn't know when it had happened exactly; all she knew was that she found herself looking forward to his surprise visits, laughing and smiling as he regaled her with tales of the ridiculous things his clients did. _

"How did you do it? How did you fool me?" Emma asked suddenly, thinking over their conversations and wondering again how it was that she had never realised he was lying.

"Is this about your stupid little 'superpower'?" Marcus mocked. "You know, you're not all that, Emma Swan. Not everything is about you."

That was how he had made her feel though. _When Emma and Marcus had started seeing each other, he'd made her feel like the centre of the universe. Of course, they never went anywhere – he didn't want anyone to see them and tell his wife. _

Blinking away the memories, Emma found herself thinking wryly that her life would be a lot less complicated if the other residents of Storybrooke could understand that. She was getting more and more fed up of them pressing the identity of 'the Saviour' onto her.

"Then why are you really here?" Emma asked, knowing him well-enough to know he had a second, hidden agenda. "Actually, scrap that. I don't want to know," she continued, spotting the car that had previously belonged to Mary Margaret approaching. The knowledge that her _mother_ would be in the car was enough to make her get on with what she should have been doing from the moment she had recognised Marcus: getting him to leave. "You need to go."

Marcus grinned, following her gaze over his shoulder towards the car that was pulling up, before sauntering off. Emma could feel him looking back towards her, but focused instead on avoiding eye contact with Mary-Snow and getting into the apartment before her.

* * *

**A timeline so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Bluebeard (Chapter 16) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Making Mischief (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Second Bluebeard chapter (Chapter 18) – 3 weeks later**

**Regina chapter (Chapter 17) – 3 and ½ weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so like I said earlier, I hope you like what I did with this. Bluebeard will be reappearing and again I'll delve into his and Emma's backstory a bit more and do some more explaining, and reveal why he's here. I'd love to hear what you guys thought of the chapter and, please, if you have any ideas for chapters do tell me because I'm all out now.**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxx**


	17. Duel

**A/N: I'm so sorry for dropping off the face of the planet. I got a bit overwhelmed with university work and starting my new job. Anyway, I'd really like to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this story. There's going to be three more chapters after this one and then I think I'm going to finish. I'll try to make sure the last one is something spectacular, but I also thought I should let you know that I'm switching a chapter showing James reaction to Graham being in Emma's room (Chapter 5) as requested with the second Bluebeard chapter, so they'll be chapters 18 and 19 respectively. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope the extra length makes up for my lack of updating. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Duel**

"Emma, hold on a second," Snow begged. "Let's talk about this."

"We _have _talked about this," Emma pointed out, not letting her former friend's grip on her arm slow her down as she marched out to the woods. Any other time she would have twisted out of the grip, but she was all too aware that Snow had been nearly shot just days before and though she had avoided serious damage; the area was still bandaged and the skin raw from the bullet's scorching path. "We've talked about this for days. The time for talking is done."

"You're far too stubborn for your own good," Graham called from behind, out of breath from jogging to keep up with Emma's determined pace.

"She gets it from her mother," James muttered, the words not quite quiet enough to evade Emma and Snow White's hearing, the both of them tutting and glancing back with the exact same look of annoyance on their faces. Realising this, Emma looked away; still unsure how she felt about her connection to the woman she had been roommates with.

"Look, I've made my decision. Regina wants a fight? That's what she's going to get."

"You _can't_!" Snow and James both yelled.

Emma sighed and fought to keep her temper. The amount of times they'd had the same argument was mind boggling. No matter how much she tried to reinforce the point, her parents seemed unable to grasp the fact that Emma was no longer their little girl and was fully capable of making her decisions. Maybe she didn't always make the right decisions – Marcus was proof of that (and she still couldn't quite believe what had happened when her mother had showed up) – but they were her decisions and mistakes to make.

She was just about to repeat what she had said before, when Graham spoke.

"Maybe Emma's right. Maybe it needs to be done. Or Regina's never going to leave any of us alone."

She couldn't help the look of shock that flitted across her face as she regarded Graham, the man in question offering her a half-smile that didn't look quite genuine. She gave him a grateful look as James whirled on her colleague who had been called to help convince her that taking on Regina was stupid and would only result in her arrest. Emma wasn't bothered by that line of argument. She knew the dangers. And she'd been arrested before. It wasn't much of a threat, given that even though it had been three weeks, the legal system had yet to fully return to some semblance of normality. Old fights and deep-running vengeances meant that the sheriff's station and the District Attorney were almost constantly busy. Moe French, Captain Hook and Gold were frequently in contact with Albert Spencer.

"Are you mental? Emma's as good as dead if she goes and meets Regina alone! You read that letter. You know Regina; you know better than anyone what she'll do."

Graham shuddered in response. "You're right I do know what Regina _plans _to do, but you're forgetting one thing. Emma's the _saviour_; it's not going to be as one-sided a battle as you think. Why not have a little faith in your daughter?"

"We do have faith in Emma," Snow began, turning to face Emma, before James took over.

"But this isn't like the beanstalk. Regina isn't someone you can take on alone."

Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes and ask how many times her father had tried to fight Regina by himself. Without taking into account his time in fairytale land, she'd witnessed him attempt to throttle the woman twice in the last week. Hypocritical wasn't the word.

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "She said she just wants to talk."

"You don't know her like we do. She'll trick you. Look what she's done to our family already. She's framed us for murder, put us under sleeping curses, shot at us, locked us in cells, interfered in our lives more times than it's possible to count," James argued.

"That may be, but she won't stop interfering in our lives unless I do this."

"But she'll…" Snow trailed off, her last words stuck in her throat.

"Kill me? You don't think I know that?"

"Then why are you going? Please, just come back to the apartment. We'll figure something else out," James pleaded.

"You know I can't," Emma responded, looking at him with sorry eyes before darting away as quickly as she could.

Before James could rush after her, Graham grabbed the back of his jacket, ignoring the King's struggling.

"Let go of me! Let me go after her! Emma!" he shouted, cursing Graham and calling for his daughter.

Snow stared at the spot Emma had been stood, one of her hands reaching out to trace the air where her daughter had been as though she was touching her cheek. Without being called tears spilled out of her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Upon seeing this, James finally stopped struggling with Graham and pulled his wife into his chest, murmuring soothing words and stroking her back, all the while glaring angrily over the top of her head at Graham.

"Sorry," Graham mumbled, looking down at the ground unable to meet James' eyes without feeling guilty for letting Emma go. The trouble was he understood Emma's mind completely. He had spent every day at the station with her since Regina had first reappeared.

_He had felt her terror every time one of the phones rang, her heart jumping in fear at the thought that it was going to be Snow White or James ringing to say that something had happened to Henry. It was slowly driving her insane. He had longed to do something to help, but she wouldn't even look at him. She always arrived in the station at the last possible minute before half eight and left as soon as she could. Where she spent the rest of his time, he didn't know. But she certainly wasn't spending it at the apartment. Snow had rung him before, asking whether she had left the station and always sounded disappointed when he said she'd left an hour before. _

_And then the letter had arrived, already on her desk when they had walked through the door together, an unusual occurrence given that she was prone to avoiding him. At the time he had thought nothing of it, but now he wondered whether there was a reason she had not bothered going to Granny's that morning for a coffee. As he removed his leather jacket and sat down at his desk, he had watched her from the corner of his eyes, as he always did. He didn't quite know why he insisted on it, but he found it unbearable not to be able to see her. He had seen the slight crumple of confusion written across her brow as she picked up the letter and inspected it before sliding a finger along the seal on the back and tearing the envelope open. _

_She could only have been reading it for a few seconds before the paper fell from her hands, fluttering onto her desktop with a slight rustle that caused his head to flick up. His eyes had no difficulty noticing her shaking hands and his sharp ears easily heard her shallow, panicky breaths. _

"_Emma?" he asked in concern._

_She didn't reply, but instead grabbed her keys and rushed out of the station. _

_Interest piqued, he crossed the room, glancing at the door to be sure Emma wouldn't return as he read her letter. _

_The Woods. The Playground. Friday. Eleven. _

_Should you not turn up, you'll regret it. Already a storm is about to hit Storybrooke. My diviner tells me that the apartment you share with the delightful Snow White and her beloved Charming will be just one of the areas hit, but if you don't give me what I want the land will be razed before the sky even has the chance to thunder. I'm sure it wouldn't even take too much effort to redirect a little thunder and lightning to the stupid sheriff's station. I decide what happens in this town._

_Graham gulped. He recognised the neat, cursive hand of the Evil Queen._

Emma shivered though in her fur-lined leather jacket she wasn't cold. It wasn't fear per se, but wariness. She had no idea whether Regina would have arrived yet, nor what would happen once she did. Would they talk or would she kill her on the spot?

Regardless, Emma knew she was ready for whatever was going to happen. She'd been preparing all week ever since she'd received the letter. Okay, so she'd panicked a little at first, but once she'd left the station and had a cocoa, she'd been fine.

_Fingers wrapped around the cup, Emma stared unseeingly at the newspaper lying on the bar in front of her, just focusing on breathing in and out and slowing her heartbeat._

"_Anything else I can get you, Emma?" Ruby asked tentatively, standing a good distance away._

_Emma still flinched and eyed her warily. _

"_I'm fine," she blurted, averting her eyes again. _

_Ruby sighed in frustration, but tried not to begrudge Emma for her inability to accept her wolf problem, and wandered back into the kitchens to set a fry-up on the stove for Sneezy who had just walked into the Diner. Without even meaning to, she slammed the frying pan down and threw in the bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomato and bread. Angrily dousing the lot with a slosh of oil, she turned on stove and turned to grab the eggs, only to find Emma stood in her way._

"_Emma!"_

_Her heart fluttered with fright from her friend's daughter's unexpected appearance. _

"_Sorry," Emma muttered, scooting back a few steps and leaning her back against the edge of one of the cupboards that housed a million mugs and cups, some of them chipped and cracked._

"_It's fine," Ruby told her, squeezing her arm lightly and retrieving the eggs before the rest of the fry up burned. _

_As she cracked the shells and poured the white and yolk into the scalding oil in the bottom of the pan, Emma said, "It's not though."_

_Ruby frowned, unsure whether Emma was just referring to her startling appearance in the kitchen or something else._

"_Are you okay, Emma?" she asked, peeking sidelong at the blonde saviour._

_Emma was silent for a few moments, internally struggling with the instinct to respond with a 'yes' and brush off the offer of help._

"_No," she finally whispered, almost breaking down again._

"_What is it?" Ruby asked, pulling the frying pan off the heat so she could devote her full attention to Emma. _

_As Emma relayed the story of Regina's attack at the school and her threatening letter, she couldn't help thinking with some humour how odd it was to be seeking help and advice from Ruby rather giving it to her as she had just a month or so before when Ruby and Granny had argued._

_Once Emma reached the end of her story, Ruby squeezed her arm reassuringly again. She was pleased to see that Emma didn't even cringe at her touch, but pushed the thought aside to focus on Emma's problem. _

"_Whatever you do, Emma, don't go head to head with Regina," Ruby warned. "Your parents will never forgive me if I let you walk out of here with that idea in your head."_

_Emma couldn't help picturing her parent's reaction, and stifled a chuckle. Sometimes, they could be a bit melodramatic when it came to her safety. It had been bad enough when she'd returned from beanstalk. As soon as they were away from Rumplestiltskin, Snow White and James had been quick to sternly tell her that she was 'never to do anything like that again.' In a way their worry was nice. It had been a long time since anyone cared what Emma did, but at the same time because of that, their care was a nuisance._

_Blinking, Emma refocused on Ruby and what she was saying. _

"_But is it about Henry, or is this all this about Daniel? I mean, I miss Peter, but he wouldn't want me to suffer any more than I already have. I don't think Daniel would approve of Regina's behaviour…" Ruby mused, seeming to be thinking aloud more than instructing Emma on what to do._

Emma paused to steel herself, able to see the playground Regina had had built looming ahead. Her eyes flitted from tree to tree, searching but not finding anyone. Finally, she pressed on and entered the clearing that housed the playground. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on Regina lounging against the side of the 'Castle' in yet another of her designer suits, looking ridiculous in the setting of the woods.

In a second, before Emma could even blink, however; she was at her side.

Emma fought against her body, willing herself not to flinch, not to react as Regina regarded her coldly.

"Before you do this, just tell me why," Emma said simply. If she was going to die, she wanted to know why.

"Because I _will _have my happy ending."

"And Henry's your happy ending?" Emma questioned, trying to understand what was motivating her.

"He's my son, of course he makes me happy. He's all I've got. I lost everyone else – Daniel, my father-" Regina answered, her voice turning from bitter to despairing at the thought of Daniel, her one true love.

"-Daniel? Who's Daniel?" She already knew, of course, some of the story from reading Henry's book; but she wasn't entirely sure.

Tears clouding her eyes, Regina turned away. It wouldn't do for Ms Swan to see her in such a moment of weakness. Even with her back turned though, her voice carried to Emma as she told her story. Despite only intending to reveal what Snow White had done, she found herself practically pouring her heart out to Emma Swan, telling her all about how her mother treated her and what she taught her.

"But don't you see?" Emma interrupted. "It may not be intentional, but you're acting the same way as your mother by not giving Henry a choice-"

"-I am not my mother!"

Regina whirled around, fire in her eyes. She was anything but her mother, she thought vehemently. Lost in fury, Regina approached, her hands fully prepared to conjure spells that would deprive Emma of oxygen.

"Whatever it is you're going to do, just get on with it. What are you waiting for?"

From the trees, it sounded like there might have been a gasp, but when no further sound was heard, both Emma and Regina were left to conclude that it could only have been the wind.

Emma shut her eyes, unable to stare into Regina's empty eyes any longer whilst she waited for her to rip out her heart and crush it like she'd done to Graham and so many others.

But nothing happened.

Slowly, she opened one eye, then the other, to find Regina simply regarding her.

"Perhaps I underestimated you, Ms Swan," Regina murmured, just traces of anger left in her eyes. "Maybe we _can _come to some arrangement. I gather you were crucial in negotiating the custodial agreement between Jefferson and the Millers."

Emma nodded, bewildered by Regina's sudden change of heart.

After a brief discussion, they had come to an agreement. Henry would stay in the apartment with Emma, Snow and James during the week as it was more convenient for the purposes of Henry's schooling. The weekends, he would spend with Regina.

"Thank you…Emma," Regina said, giving her what looked like a genuine smile.

Emma nodded and turned to leave before remembering the storm Regina had mentioned in her letter.

"Regina?" she called, whirling around.

"Yes?"

"The storm, were you being serious?"

"I'll do what I can to direct it away from the town, but I've already summoned it…" Regina trailed off and glanced at Emma, wondering whether she might revise her recently changed opinion of her.

Emma nodded, grateful for the help anyway. She smiled uncertainly, just a small gesture, and walked away. The instant she was out of the clearing, she was surrounded.

Snow swept her into her arms and James trailed his hands through her hair in disbelief.

"You're okay," Snow breathed.

"I'm fine," Emma promised, making sure she made eye contact with the both of them.

As they released her, Red walked up reproachfully.

"Emma, you said you wouldn't take her on. Did you listen to a word I said?"

"Yes! I didn't take her on," Emma professed. "We just talked."

"Well-"

"-Thank you. Red."

Ruby smiled at Emma calling her by her real name and the four of them began walking back towards town. As Snow and Red gossiped, James just happy to be in their company, Emma found herself thinking. She found herself reflecting that perhaps Regina wasn't all bad.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? I hope you guys liked what I did. I've really liked the way the writers have developed Regina in this second series and decided I wanted to do something similar. Hopefully, the next update won't be so long coming. I'm skipping lectures tomorrow, so you never know, you might see something else quite soon. **

**Anyways, thanks so much for reading! As always, much love, SabreDae**

**xxxxxxxxxx**


	18. True Love

**A/N: Hey guys! So here's more of James' reaction to Graham staying the night in Emma's room, as requested by CAS and juls124. I've thrown in the end of chapter 5, so that it links in a bit more. I hope you like it. As always, I'd love to know what you think!**

* * *

"Oh, er, morning," Emma yawned as she bumped into her father outside the bathroom.

"Emma! Do you know where my jacket is?!" Graham shouted from her bedroom, temporarily forgetting about the apartment's other inhabitants. Whilst Snow White had let him in the previous night and shown him up to Emma's room, James had been out until late, consulting with the other townspeople over what to do about the Evil Queen and hadn't known Graham had stayed over.

James eyes went wide and he turned, his every move seeming to be filled with anger.

"No! Wait!" Emma called, trying to stop him. "Damn."

As James burst into the room, Emma internally winced and cringed. She didn't need to see past her father's tall, muscular frame to know that Graham was frozen, probably in the middle of pulling his shoes on and staring at James breathing loudly through his nose.

"Out, now," James ordered, continuing to stand in the doorway and block Emma's access to her own bedroom.

"I can't believe this. Trespassing in our home," he ranted whilst waiting for Graham to finish dressing and leave.

"It's not trespassing if he was invited in," Emma pointed out.

"Not now, Emma," James muttered, never taking his watchful eyes off Graham. "What did you do? Climb in through the window?"

"No, I-I used the door-" Graham began before being cut off by James.

"-Broke the lock, then, hm?" James asked angrily. "Isn't that taking liberties with your position in the Sheriff's station?"

"No, your Majesty," Graham replied. "Your wife-"

"-Will you hurry up and finish dressing? I want you _out_ of my house," James told Graham, crossing his arms.

"I would if I could find my jacket!" Graham exclaimed, finally beginning to lose his patience.

Emma sighed and squeezed past her father, noting how he turned as though to stop her entering. Doing her best to ignore her father keeping a close eye on her, she helped Graham search her room for his jacket, picking up her own clothes that she must have carelessly tossed about the previous night off the floor. If the situation were less serious she would have been more embarrassed, though as it was, her cheeks still burned. She just thanked her lucky stars that Henry was with Regina for the weekend.

Finally, after getting onto her knees to reach under bed to retrieve one of her boots, Emma found Graham's missing leather jacket and flung it at him.

Before she could react, James had grabbed her and shooed her out of the room.

"Why don't you go and help your mother make breakfast?" James suggested, though it was clear from his voice that it wasn't really a suggestion, it was an instruction.

Emma huffed, but made her way down the stairs, picking up her old grey hoody from the top of the bannister and pulling it on. As she entered the kitchen, Snow looked up from her newspaper and mug of cocoa in surprise.

"I didn't expect to see you up so early," she murmured, smiling at her daughter before frowning in concern when Emma didn't return to gesture and slumped into the chair opposite, resting her head on the arms she folded on the table. "Okay, Emma? You're not still drunk are you?"

Emma shook her head and began to wonder for the second time, exactly how much she had had to drink. She still didn't even remember coming home. If Graham ever suggested drinks again, she thought she might have to hit him. Even if she had escaped a hangover, she hadn't been so drunk she couldn't remember things for years.

"Then what is?" Snow asked, playing absent-mindedly with one of Emma's blonde curls.

Emma hesitated, unsure how her mother would react to her moaning about her father's behaviour. Before she had a chance to speak, James appeared at the bottom of the stairs and walked to the front door without a word.

Snow frowned again and was about to call out to him that there was a mug of coffee waiting for him when Graham came rushing down the stairs.

"Bye, Emma," he hissed, looking back over his shoulder at her on his way to the front door. His head snapped round as he ran straight into James, the former King standing determinedly with his legs apart and his arms crossed again, glaring at his daughter's boyfriend of sorts.

"Not so fast," James said through gritted teeth, clamping a hand on Graham's shoulder and steering him towards the table where Emma and Snow were sat.

"James?" Snow asked.

"I found him in Emma's room," he explained, pushing Graham into a seat. Emma expected her father to sit down, but instead he stood at the end of the table, where he towered over Graham.

"Dad," she complained, but he stopped her argument about being a fully grown woman able to make her own decisions about guys with a simple look.

Emma shot her colleague an apologetic glance, to which he replied with a shrug and a grin, mouthing that it was fine.

"And?" Snow asked, shocking Emma and James, the both of them staring at her.

"He sneaked into _our house_, Snow, and-"

Snow sighed as James spoke and the interrupted him. "-I let him in, James," she said quietly.

"-Disgusting behaviour," James carried on raving, before pausing as he realised what his wife had said. "You…what?"

"I let him in," Snow repeated.

"Why?" James exploded, doing his best to reign in his temper and not get angry with his wife.

Snow stood and took James' hand to pull him outside, where Emma and Graham wouldn't overhear their conversation. Although it concerned them, it was something that she and James had to discuss alone.

Graham looked quizzically at Emma, silently asking for an explanation that she couldn't give. Emma shrugged in response and left the table to peer out the window at her parents. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but James obviously didn't agree with what Snow was saying. Watching them, Emma began to feel guilty for being the cause of her parent's argument.

* * *

Outside, Snow regarded her husband unhappily. He was still standing with his arms folded and there was at least a foot's distance between them.

"Emma came back alone drunk, so drunk she could barely stand," Snow added, speaking frankly and earnestly. "Graham was nowhere to be seen, I just assumed he and Emma had gone their separate ways at the bar. After all, Emma's so independent she'd hardly let him walk her home."

James nodded for her to continue, though he still looked angry.

Snow continued to retell the previous night's events of how she had been getting Emma a glass of water when Graham had arrived, knocking at the door, wanting to check Emma had made it home okay. Looking at his facial expression, Snow was reminded of how James had looked at her when they had first met. Making a split decision, she had handed him the glass of water and directed him to Emma's room.

"I still don't understand why you thought it was okay to send him into our daughter's bedroom," James muttered.

"James," Snow said, taking his hand in both of hers and staring at him until he finally made eye contact with her, his expression softening. "We're not in the Enchanted Forest anymore. Things are different here, it's just the way it works. And it can't be one rule for us and another for Emma."

"What do you mean?"

Snow couldn't help smirking slightly. "Do you honestly believe you and I would have done any different had things happened differently before the curse broke?"

James couldn't argue. He knew from David's memories how close he and Mary Margaret had come. "That still doesn't make it right. Graham remembers our ways. He should have come to me-"

"-Charming, can't you give them a break?" Snow asked gently. "They're in love."

"No, they aren't. Emma would have said something," James replied, sure that Emma would have mentioned having feelings for Graham to Snow, who would have in turn told him. They didn't have secrets in their family.

"They are," Snow insisted. "It's a love as true as ours, James, they just haven't realised it yet. Emma deserves to be happy. You weren't there when Graham died. You didn't see her, Charming. She was cut up, numb. She barely ate, I hardly ever saw her. Can you blame me for letting them be together when I can see how happy Emma is now. Whenever Graham's around, she's always smiling."

James finally unfolded his arms and looked down at his feet for a few moments in shame.

"No, I can't blame you. You're right, Snow, just like always," he murmured ruefully, before stepping forwards and closing the distance between them and wrapping his arms around her. Snow buried her face in Charming's plaid shirt, before leaning up to kiss him.

* * *

When Charming and Snow entered the apartment again, Emma held her breath. Nervously, she risked a glance at them and was relieved to find that James and Snow were holding hands, the two of them looking happy enough.

Snow looked at James expectantly.

"I'm sorry," he said gruffly, as if it took great effort to get out those two, simple words. Snow dug her elbow lightly into his side and tutted. "Really sorry, Graham, Emma," he amended in response.

Emma shot Snow a grateful look. She didn't know what she'd said or how she'd done it but she would never stop being thankful for it. That didn't stop her being surprised when Graham stood up and walked directly over to James, held out his hand and spoke more formally than she'd ever heard someone speak.

"I realise I should have come to you long ago to ask your permission in courting your daughter."

Emma blinked. Courting? Who had said she and Graham were courting? It took her a moment to realise that she didn't really mind.

James shook his head. "I overreacted."

Emma stood, finally going to get dressed. As she passed her parents, James grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.

"Sorry," he said again, whispering the word into her ear.

"It's okay," she replied just as quietly, surprised to find she wasn't even uncomfortable in his arms. "I love you, Dad."

James kissed the top of her head and released her, turning to Snow with the biggest, uncontrollable grin.

* * *

**A timeline so you can all hopefully avoid confusion (apologies for not putting it on the previous chapter): **

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Bluebeard (Chapter 16) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Making Mischief (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Second Bluebeard chapter (Chapter 19) – 3 weeks later**

**Duel (Chapter 17) – 3 and ½ weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**True Love (Chapter 18) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

**Last chapter (Chapter 20) – 6 weeks later**

* * *

**A/N: So I hope you guys liked it. Let me know what you thought! Just two chapters left to go, by the way. Quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. It really means a lot.  
**

**Thanks for reading! Much love, SabreDae!**

**xxxxxxxxx**


	19. Only Just

**A/N: Hey all! I hope you've all had a great holiday and that 2013 is a good year for you – at least Once will be back on our screens! (Stupid winter break.) Please accept my sincerest apologies for not updating sooner. I had to send my laptop away for repairs for what must be the fifth time now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Just one more to go!**

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**Only Just  
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Pulling her bedroom curtains apart an inch, Emma peered out and exhaled in a huff. For days now, Marcus had been lurking outside every morning just to annoy her. As soon as she left the apartment and it became obvious she had seen him however, he would soon slink off. Where he went and what he did, Emma had no idea. And, having not told anyone of his appearance, she could not justify using town resources to tail him and find out.

Resigning herself to his presence, she crossed the room and rifled through her wardrobe for a clean pair of jeans and a shirt. Trying to avoid her parents wasn't beneficial to her laundry, which never seemed to get done unless she was in the apartment when Snow loaded the washing machine.

Finally coming out with a pair of old, faded black skinny jeans and a plaid shirt that had belonged to another ex-boyfriend, Emma dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast, not even pausing at the sight of her father stood at the hobs frying pancakes instead of her other. Since the escapade in the school, James had insisted against Snow's protests that she take things easy and had taken leave of the Sheriff's station to do all the chores that his wife normally took care of.

Emma seated herself at the table opposite her mother, knowing she would only complain if she didn't stay for breakfast, and pulled her legs onto the rickety, wooden chair until she was sat cross-legged. A few moments after James had served up the pancakes, a large pile of them sat on a plate in the centre of the table forming a miniature Leaning Tower of Pisa, Henry rushed down the stairs, skidding on the wooden floors in just his socks. The precariously balanced pancakes wobbled as he collided with the table and fell over.

"Ow."

Emma smirked at her parents as she stood to help him up.

"You okay, kiddo?"

He nodded, rubbing his leg as he sat down in the seat beside her and speared a pancake on his fork. After transferring it to his plate, he eagerly returned to the pile of pancakes and somehow ended up with almost half of them on the plate before him.

Just as he was about to shovel a large forkful into his mouth, Emma pulled the plate away from him. "I don't think so."

"But, Mom-"

"-No buts, Henry. That much sugar will have you so hyper you'll-"

"-Be flying through the ceiling. I know," he said miserably, dropping his fork onto the plate and leaning down over the table, resting his head on his folded arms whilst Emma grabbed a box of cereal, milk and a bowl from the kitchen for him.

"Psst, Henry," James hissed, holding out half a pancake for his grandson to scarf down.

Henry grinned and stuffed the half into his mouth whole, trying his hardest to look innocent when Emma returned to the table and peered at the three of them.

"What's going on?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Snow and James assured her.

"Henry?" Emma asked, turning to her son.

"Nkjhgutng," he mumbled, unable to speak properly for the unchewed pancake still in his mouth.

"Sorry what was that?" Emma asked jokingly, eyebrows raised.

"Mne shed nruhng!" he tried again.

James sniggered. Snow elbowed him but found herself chuckling anyway. Emma couldn't help it. She snorted, almost slopping Henry's bowl of cereal over his head as laughter crippled her.

"Very funny," Henry said, his voice completely dead-panned, having finally managed to chew and swallow the piece of pancake. He accepted the bowl of cereal from Emma determined to stay annoyed with his mother and grandparents, but he was unable to stop himself from exclaiming, "Sugar puffs! Thanks, Mom," when he saw the cereal in his Avenger's bowl.

Emma smiled at him and grabbed two pancakes for her plate before proceeding to smother the pile with a dollop of Nutella.

As she took the plate to the microwave, wanting the chocolate spread to melt, James muttered, "Now we know where Henry gets his sweet tooth from."

Emma rolled her eyes at the exact time the microwave timer beeped, and returned to the table with her chocolate-covered pancakes. "I'm not _that _bad," she insisted. "Loads of people eat their pancakes like this."

"Right…" James replied.

Emma shook her head, but just carried on eating. As soon as she was finished, she made to take her dirty plate to the kitchen, but James beat her to it and scooped up everyone's dishes and cutlery, taking them to the dishwasher before anyone could move.

"Alright, I'd better get to work," Emma announced, standing up.

"See you later," Snow said, easing herself out of her own chair.

"Bye, Mom," Henry called.

Emma hung her purple leather jacket over her arm and waved goodbye as she stepped out the door. As she left the house, she couldn't help glancing around for Marcus, but he appeared to have left; though of course, Emma knew he wouldn't have gone too far. He had shown no desire to leave Storybrooke, though she still hadn't managed to work out why he was sticking around.

Brushing aside the thoughts, she unlocked her old VW Beetle and clambered inside, doing her best not to knock over the various case files littering the car. Her efforts proved pointless as, the moment she started the old car's engine the resulting shudder sent them flying anyway. Sighing, she drove away from the apartment, heading towards the sheriff station.

Trying the door, she figured Graham had yet to arrive since it was still locked. Juggling the case files and her keys, Emma finally managed to unlock the door and flip the light switches inside.

Emma dumped the files she'd collected from the car on her desk and booted up the station's computers, preparing the station for the day's work. She didn't look up from her task of ensuring the phones were all connected when the door slammed, just assuming it was Graham arriving. She still wasn't used to him being around. And she felt she was justified in feeling that. It had only been a week since he'd returned after all. People just couldn't adjust that quickly. After being on her own in the station for months; it was more than odd having him back.

"Don't say hello then," somebody said acerbically.

Recognising the voice in surprise, Emma's head whipped up, cracking against the underside of one of the desks she had been bending under to turn the power on so she could charge her cell phone. Wincing as she carefully stood, Emma came face to face with Marcus.

"What do you want?" she hissed, rubbing the sore spot on the top of her head.

"I need your help," he replied calmly, not even looking at her as he inspected his nails.

"With. What?" Emma spat.

"I've been trying to get in contact with someone here."

"Who?"

"August W Booth," Marcus-Bluebeard-whatever-his-name-was answered irritably, emotion colouring his voice and expression for the first time.

Emma frowned in confusion. What could Marcus want with August. "Why do you want to talk to August?"

"Because he helped you escape me, of course."

"No he didn't," Emma told him slowly. She could remember exactly how her escape had happened.

_Emma chuckled at some ironic joke on the TV. When Marcus wasn't around, watching TV was just about all there was to do in his apartment. He'd made it perfectly clear that he didn't want the neighbours to see her coming and leaving, so she was to stay inside. When he popped around every other day or so, he always brought food and whatever else she needed. He usually gave her a little surprise gift too, jewellery or clothes. _

_In a lull during the advert breaks, she thought she could hear someone approaching the apartment door and looked at the watch on her wrist, perplexed by the fact that it was too early for Marcus to have finished work but the mailman had already done his rounds in the building. _

_As the letter box clattered and something dropped to the floor, Emma turned off the TV and padded over to the door, mystified. Lying on the carpet was a single key. Emma frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the one door in the apartment that was always locked. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? _

_Before she knew what she was doing, the key was in her hand and she was twisting it in the lock. Her breath rattled in her ribcage as she pulled open the door, inexplicably nervous. Stepping into the room, she could barely see. There was no window and the lights were switched off, though that was easily rectified once Emma had found the light switch. As the lights flickered on, Emma surveyed the room in confusion. Everywhere she looked, she was met with the eyes of a woman staring out at her from a picture on the wall. Attached to each photo was an object. Beside one brunette woman was a locket, pinned to the wall. When the lights finally stopped flickering, Emma realised what she was looking at. Beneath every picture were names scrawled in such a deep red-brown ink that it could only be blood. Feeling sick to the bone, Emma glanced down the line of photos, coming to a stop when she found herself looking at her own face, though her name had yet to be written underneath it in blood and there was no memento next to it. Her stomach churned and she had to dash to the bathroom, the contents of her stomach getting flushed down the toilet. Though there was nothing left to come up, it didn't stop her retching. _

_Still gagging, Emma hurried to pack a bag, throwing in a bunch of clothes from the wardrobe, though the sight of them made her wonder who else might have been given them, reminding her of what Marcus was. A Murderer. _

_As soon as the bag was full, she flung it over her shoulder and slipped her feet into shoes. Leaving the apartment, Emma didn't even bother to re-lock the room. She didn't even shut the front door. She was too focused on getting away. _

_Boarding a bus with the cash Marcus had left lying around that she had stolen, Emma couldn't help looking around, expecting him to appear and drag her back to the apartment and bash her head against the edge of the marble kitchen counter. If she closed her eyes, all she saw was Marcus standing over her with a gun. Sometimes he was stood in the kitchen, dangerously close to the knife block. Even when she had arrived in the next town over, she didn't feel safe. _

"Who did you think gave you that key? _Mr Booth_ came to see me at work that morning, and whilst I was searching the bank systems for the information he sought, he must have fished the key from my bags. Such deviousness. He was such a smooth liar too," Marcus drawled, making it obvious that he knew full-well who August really was.

Before Emma could reply, the station door opened once more, Graham stepping inside and knotting his eyebrows at the sight of Emma and Marcus.

"Everything okay?" he asked, looking at Emma in concern.

"Fine. Marcus was just leaving," Emma replied, glaring pointedly at Marcus.

"You _will_ help me," he muttered threateningly as he left, slipping past Graham and out the door.

As the door swung shut, Graham asked, "Who was that?"

"Nobody," Emma told him, turning away from him and sitting down at her desk and starting work on the files she had brought in with her, effectively closing the subject.

Marcus didn't reappear that day, though Emma was on the lookout as she left the station for her lunch break and again when she drove back to the apartment. Instead of Marcus waiting for her outside the apartment, she found Snow and James standing before the front door, barely sheltered from the rain.

James walked out to open her car door and then escorted her up to the building where Snow waited, seemingly scrutinising her.

"What?" Emma asked guardedly.

"Who is he?" Snow asked with a sigh, opening the door for the three of them, though that didn't stop James protesting that she should be taking it easy.

"What are you talking about?"

"Graham called," James told her, the two words easily explaining the situation.

Emma resisted the urge to grit her teeth.

"And I told Graham that he was nobody."

"Sure," Snow muttered sarcastically, knowing Emma well enough from the months of being roommates to know when she was hiding something.

"He's just someone from my past," Emma told them, feeling uncomfortable.

"And what is he doing here? What does he want?" James asking, feeling dread in the pit of his stomach.

Emma mumbled the answer quickly, hoping her parents wouldn't hear properly. She didn't really want them to be aware of the fact that she had dated a serial killer and only narrowly escaped death herself. She still wasn't exactly sure she had.

"He what?" Snow and James thundered simultaneously.

Before she could answer, both her mother and father were out the front door and storming down the road. Emma dithered in the doorway, unsure as to whether she should follow them, and was still stood there in the doorway when Henry came down from the apartment to see where she, Snow and James had got to, considering she'd arrived home ten minutes beforehand.

"Mom? Where are Grandma and Grandpa?"

"They, er, they had to run out," Emma answered, stuttering as she tried to come up with an answer that didn't reveal the entire truth.

They stood for a few more moments, Emma staring after her parents, Henry looking at Emma in bewilderment. Aside from her short explanation, he had no idea what was going on.

"Come on, let's go up," Emma finally said, shutting the front door and turning her back on it. "You should eat dinner."

Henry followed her back up the apartment and sat down at the table to finish his homework while Emma warmed some leftovers for him – just about the only thing she could make.

They were both eating in silence when Snow and James returned, the both of them bearing similar expressions of anger. Henry glanced up and immediately looked back at his plate at the sight of them, finishing his dinner and going to his room without needing to be told.

As soon as he was out of sight and hearing range, Snow and James sat down at the table.

"He's gone," James said simply, though this fact did nothing to improve his or Snow's mood.

Emma nodded, grateful that Marcus wouldn't be bothering her anymore. But she still had to give her parents the whole story, something that wasn't made any easier by their hardened eyes as she got to certain parts of the story like the room of death.

When she had finished the story, neither James or Snow spoke, though James stood and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle from one of the cabinets and pouring himself a straight whiskey. Emma glanced at both of them, though neither met her eyes. Eventually, coming to the conclusion that she was not going to hear Snow and James' story of their own encounter with Marcus, she rose and left the room, pausing at the top of the stairs where she would still be able to hear what they were saying.

"James," Snow said gently, seeming to have lost her own anger. There was a slight clink as she presumably took the whiskey from him and placed it on the counter.

"He-he said he was going to-to kill her and keep-keep her hair," he angrily ground out, having difficulty re-verbalising what he'd been told.

Emma gasped. She had known when she found the room that Marcus had been planning to kill her, but she hadn't known he was going to cut off her hair and hang it beside her picture.

"I know," Snow whispered. "But he didn't. _He won't_."

Emma didn't know what surprised her more, what Marcus had intended or James losing his composure and breaking down sobbing. As she listened to her mother shushing him, she found herself feeling guilty for eavesdropping on their privacy and quietly walked into her room, keeping her horror to herself even though she knew she wouldn't sleep a wink. Already she could feel the old nightmares returning, and that familiar feeling of the absence of safety that she had so long been without. Its reappearance almost crippled her with fear. But she kept it all inside though it threatened to spill past her walls. She kept it to herself. Only just.

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**A timeline so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Bluebeard (Chapter 16) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Making Mischief (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Only Just (Chapter 18) – 3 weeks later**

**Regina chapter (Chapter 17) – 3 and ½ weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

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**A/N: I know this was pretty grim in a way, but I hope you still liked it. I'd really appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this chapter, particularly as it's not often I write this kind of crime/horror type stuff. Constructive criticism is welcomed. Please be honest, as I do want to improve my writing further. I really can't tell you how much I value your feedback.  
**

**Thanks so much for reading! Much love, SabreDae  
**

**xxxxxx  
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	20. Part 1: A Grand Day Out

**A/N: So here it is: the last chapter. Before I let you guys read on, I would like to take a moment to say a massive thank you. **

**Firstly to everyone who has read and followed this story: 06shart, AlyssJoceyln, Amee95, Anuxi, Clarizabel, CtrlAltDelicious, DracoAngelOfLight, EmmaSwan97, Emmalime, Femvamp, Frog1, Greathe, HeMaNiTe, JackSparrowsWench92, Janie In A World Of Her Own, Jazmingirl, JET1967, Kamen Rider Lynx, KingdomHeartsNerd, KortneyBreAnne, LIVEreadLOVEwriteLAUGH, La5021, Lessa Wildmoon, LilNewbornVamp, Linzerj, MnM1803, NCISGleek, Nightcrawler's Shadow, Obsessive-Gal, OnceVampireGossipLiarxo, OrdinaryCastleOUATfan, PhantomNovelist, Sarahhpouatfan1223, Sheldonite73, SkellingtonGirl97, Spike847, SwanQueen4055, TexannaRose, TorchwoodIsAwesome, TrinaAngel, WellITriedSoManyOptions, Welshbabe88, Words Unleashed, XSerendipity92X, Zachary Inverse, aidar, anitarose, bobbinbird, britpup, bronzesnidget196, caseylu, chinadoll816, fictionfrek101, gamecocker, hadesdaughtermacaria, hfce, hjbau, juls124, kittywrite, lancemanion, lastlovesangel, luisa mendoza, nikibear0219, oldmcpiper, oogie0811, pamy, sakura-blossom62, scifigrl10, serialwatcher2182, shaemysterious, talkstoangels77, twilightocd94, wildpartyhouse247 and ziva2010. I can't tell you enough how glad I am that you've gone on this journey with me. **

**Secondly to everyone who added this story to their favourites: 06shart, addictedoncer, Aod4L, Byoken, GoldMotel, JackSparrowsWench92, Janie In A World Of Her Own, Jayjay6671, Jazmingirl, Kamen Rider Lynx, KingdomHeartsNerd, Lady Rain Valecha, Lessa Wildmoon, LilNewbornVamp, Linzerj, Nightcrawler's Shadow, Obsessive-Gal, Opalbrat, Princess Juliet Rose, Rhianna Park, Sarahhpouatfan1223, Sheldonite73, TexannaRose, TrinaAngel, ana27734, brubia14, darksage11, frictionfrek101, hadesdaughtermacaria, hfce, hp1616, juls124, luisa mendoza, mysterysock2 (apologies for not including the fullstop, but your name would be taken out if I did), nikibear0219, pamy, runnerlover121, scifigrl10, serialwatcher2182, simplymegan15, twilightocd94 and ziva2010. I'm so glad you enjoyed this story. **

**Next I'd like to give my biggest thanks to everyone who took the time to review. I really can't put into words what those reviews have meant and how much they've helped me. So thanks go to: miley-avril, Aod4L, red lighting, BrittanyLS, b, WildDragon26221, hfce, twilightocd94, Obsessive-Gal, Lynne26, Linzerj, CtrlAltDelicious, Angels-heart1, Byoken, kelli Maguire, Lacorra, Emmalime, CAS, juls124, talkstoangels77 and all the anonymous reviewers. Double thanks do to anyone who suggested an encounter for Emma to have. I really can't thank you enough.**

**And without any further ado, chapter twenty!**

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**Part 1: A Grand Day Out**

Emma yawned and languidly stretched out in bed.

"So you're finally awake," Graham murmured, grabbing one of his ties and standing in front of the mirror. After watching him struggle for two minutes with the thin-style tie Snow had bought him as a birthday present, Emma took pity on him.

"Here, let me." Pushing the covers back, Emma rolled out of the bed and came to stand behind him, holding her hand out for the tie. Turning, Graham handed it to her and stood still as Emma ducked under his chin and began fastening it around his neck. As she finished up, he dipped his head until his nose was buried in her hair, inhaling the scent of peaches as his arms circled her waist. "There, done," Emma announced, stepping back only to find her way barred by Graham's arms. Ignoring the way he was looking at her, she said, "Don't forget your waistcoat."

Graham opened his arms, releasing Emma, who unhooked his waistcoat from one of the hangers in her wardrobe and held it out for him to slide his arms into. Smoothing down the shoulders, Emma moulded her body to his back, pressing her form against him. Graham smiled and took one of Emma's tiny hands from his chest and pressed it to his lips.

"Enjoy your day off," he told her, turning and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Enjoy your day at work," Emma replied with a smirk. "I'll see you later."

He nodded. "Just don't forget: its date night tonight."

"I won't," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

"And don't go back to bed. Snow's somehow managing to keep your cocoa warm for you."

"Nope. See, I'm getting up," she replied, pulling on one of her old hoodies over her pyjamas. Graham didn't look convinced, but he left the room anyway, calling a goodbye over his shoulder. As Emma collapsed back down on the bed and closed her eyes, she could faintly hear him saying goodbye to Henry. That didn't prepare her for Henry barging into her room and quite literally diving on her, though.

"Oof," Emma exclaimed as the air was driven out of her lungs, winding her.

"Graham said to tell you not to go back to sleep," he said, exuberance filling him up and turning him into a bundle of energy.

"Henry," Emma groaned, her voice the complete opposite of Henry's as lethargic as she was.

"What?"

"You can talk. Look at you. You're still in your pyjamas too," she answered, peeking open one of her eyes to look at his Incredible Hulk PJs.

"Graham said," he insisted.

"Fine. Fine, I'm getting up," Emma responded, pushing her body up with Henry still sat on her. As he tumbled off, he fell about laughing before racing out of the room. Following him to the kitchen, Emma grabbed a steaming mug of cocoa and leant against one of the counters. "So, what are we doing today?"

"We're going to the stables," Henry replied, almost yelling because he was so hyper and excited. It wasn't very often that Emma got the opportunity to take the day off from work and spend the day with him but it was getting easier now that so much time had passed since the curse had broken. After three months, everyone had fallen back into either their roles from the Enchanted Forest or from Storybrooke and most vendettas had been settled.

It seemed everything had changed. Snow and James had accepted Graham into their home and he and Emma were now in a formal relationship. Regina was cordial with them, as they were with her. And, somehow, Emma was managing to get on with her parents.

"Morning, honey," Snow said as she entered the kitchen from her bedroom.

"Morning."

"Sleep well?"

"Could have slept longer," Emma muttered to herself before nodding and smiling at her mother. "Where's Dad?"

"He went for a run. He should be back soon-"

No sooner had she spoken than the door opened and James, looking rather sweaty, entered. Bending over with his hands on his knees, he tried to get his breath back. Between huffs and puffs he managed to kiss Snow and get out, "I'm going for a shower."

Whilst they waited for James, Emma ate breakfast (the only member of the family who had yet to do so), feeling Snow and Henry's eyes on her the entire time. Strangely it didn't make her skin crawl quite so much as it used to when people stared at her. As she finished up, she ordered Henry up the stairs to change, walking in his wake to her own room, where she fished out a pair of leggings that were thicker than usual and a t-shirt layered over one of her long sleeve t-shirts. Somehow, despite having a head start over James, she was the last to be ready and as she pulled a comb through her tangled curls, Snow called up the stairs to her.

"Emma?"

"Hurry up!" Henry added in a shout.

"Just coming!" Emma yelled back. But that wasn't enough for Henry who ran upstairs and into her room before beginning to tug her out of the room by the grip he had on one of her arms. "I'll just be a minute," she told him, using the weight difference between them to remain on the spot. "I only need to finish my hair. Why don't you check your bag's all packed?"

"I've already done it," he answered.

Emma was hardly surprised. Henry's backpack went everywhere with him and it was always stocked with the essentials. Sometimes when she emptied it out at the weekends, she would find various articles of food somewhere in the process of decay.

No matter what she said, Emma couldn't get Henry to give her two seconds peace. Even telling him that he was only making it take longer for her to get ready didn't work.

"Finally," Henry moaned as she put her comb down on her dresser and turned to shoo him from the room.

"What time do you call this?" James asked, pulling back the sleeve of his plaid shirt to check his watch. "I thought we were meant to be leaving fifteen minutes ago."

"And I would have been ready if _someone _hadn't kept pestering me," Emma replied, looking pointedly at Henry, who looked guiltily down at the floor before as he muttered an apology. Sighing, Emma drew him to her side. "Come on, let's go. I thought you had some 'mad skills' to show me," she said to Henry.

Henry perked up, talking to his mother about all the different things he could do with the horse his grandparents had bought for him, as James drove them all to the stables in his truck after insisting that he wouldn't be caught dead in Emma's bug.

"It's not _that _small," Snow had reminded him.

"But it's _yellow_," he had complained, walking away to his own vehicle and climbing in the driver's seat without another word.

When they finally stopped outside the stables, Henry had barely paused for breath amidst all his talking. Snow and James shared an amused look as Emma tried her best to look interested the entire time. Hopping out of the truck, Henry rushed to the trunk to retrieve his helmet and switched his sneakers for the tall riding boots James had bought him two months ago.

Done, he turned to his family, stuck his helmet on his head; though he didn't bother to clip it on, and ran off.

"Come on!" Henry called over his shoulder.

Emma groaned but took off after him anyway.

"Last one to reach Shadow's stall has to clean it out afterwards," Henry yelled back to Snow and James.

"We should go," Snow mumbled before jogging after her daughter and grandson.

"Yep, wouldn't want to be a slow coach," James chuckled, giving his wife a few seconds head start before chasing after her.

As Emma rounded the corner where the entrances to all the stalls were, she found Henry was nowhere to be seen.

"Henry?"

There was no answer.

"Are we playing hide and seek?"

A stifled laugh echoing around the paddock she was stood in told her that they were in fact playing hide and seek now. Grinning as she searched, Emma peeped over the top of one of the stable doors only to jerk back as the mare inside wheeled around and almost head-butted her.

"Oh Henry," Emma chorused, hoping to elicit another noise from her son that would alert her to his hideout.

This time he didn't make a sound and Emma was left throwing her hands on her hips and looking around in vain. Going back to her original logic, she checked the next stall along, finding it empty. After searching two more, she had all but given up when she came across one with the door opened and approached it slowly. Before she had gone three steps, the horse inside bolted, tearing across the paddock and giving Emma the fright of her life since she'd assumed that the stall was empty as the door had been opened.

Barely having any time to react after the shock of the horse racing out, Emma's heart palpitated again as Henry's arms locked around her waist.

"Got you!" he declared.

"That you did," Emma replied a little breathlessly.

"Did you see Shadow? He can run _really _fast!"

"Yeah, I noticed that."

Snow and James appeared just then, having given up on the so-called 'race' somewhere between the car and the stables. Turning to them, Emma sent a silent plea for help to which Snow and James responded to by biting their lips to refrain from smirking. After a small shove from Snow however, James soon jogged over and rescued Emma by hauling Henry up into his arms and carrying him over to Shadow, where he slung him over the horse's midnight-black coat until he was sat on the saddle.

"Okay?" Snow asked. "You're as pale as me."

Emma scoffed. Somehow she didn't think she could ever look as pale as Snow White.

"Come on, the best view is over there," Snow said, nudging Emma and pointing diagonally across the paddock. The two of them hurried over to the spot she had indicated and climbed over the fence surrounding the paddock, leaning on the wood as they watched James lead Henry and Shadow around.

When he thought Henry was settled enough, James jogged over and joined them, the three of them the only spectators to Henry coaxing Shadow into a canter and then a gallop. When the occasion called for it, all three of them would clap as Henry made Shadow switch gaits.

Once Henry had worked through walking, trotting, cantering and galloping, James brought out the jumps and set them up, leaving off the top few poles on each one because Henry wasn't that advanced yet and they didn't want any accidents.

The first jump Henry made easily and Emma couldn't help the surge of pride that ran through her. With the riding boots, the professional helmet and his breeches, Henry looked like a proper rider (albeit a small one.) She couldn't believe all that he had managed to achieve in such a short amount of time. He'd only been having lessons for two months and it looked as if he'd made a strong bond with the horse James and Snow rented out for him.

She carried on watching, wincing as the horse occasionally refused a jump and when Henry had finished the jumps, she found herself cheering for him. After dismounting Henry rushed over and leapt onto the fence, beaming.

"That was great, kid!"

"Your turn now, Mom," was all he said back to her.

"What?" Emma demanded, sure that she had misheard.

"Your turn," Henry repeated, enunciating each word thoroughly.

"Oh no, no way am I getting on a horse."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll fall off, Henry," Emma replied. "Why don't we just eat lunch?"

"I can go and get the picnic things," Snow offered. "I packed an Apollo bar for you, Henry."

Giving in to the bribe, Henry clambered over the fence to join Emma as Snow and James jogged away to the car. Not only was Henry supplied with candy and chocolate, but the Snow had also made sandwiches with his favourite filling: ham and mustard. Emma wrinkled her nose at the smell, but didn't complain since she had her own food to enjoy. Somehow Snow had found the time to make Emma tuna melts as well as a good old-fashioned BLT for James and a chicken salad sandwich for herself. The woman was a marvel sometimes.

When they were through eating, the sandwiches reduced to breadcrumbs, the carrot sticks gone, the cakes scoffed and the candy demolished in seconds, Emma reclined back on the picnic blanket, resting her hands on her full stomach. Even though the sun rays falling on her face were causing a deep red light behind her eyelids, she couldn't help smiling. It was days like this with her family that made all the bad ones worthwhile.

Somehow, through her good mood, she found herself giving in and agreeing to a 'leisurely' ride; a decision she greatly regretted when she came face to face with the brute of a horse James had picked out for her.

After watching her standing stock-still staring at it for a few moments, James sighed and let go of the reins.

"Here, I'll help you up," he offered, ducking down and grabbing Emma around the waist, effortlessly lifting her off the ground until she began to struggle.

"I can manage," she managed to croak embarrassedly.

"Okay," James acquiesced, setting her back on her feet and stepping away, glancing back over his shoulder doubtfully as he mounted his own chosen horse.

It took Emma another five minutes to place one of her feet in the stirrups and haul herself into the saddle, by which point James and Henry had already eagerly set off. Eventually though, Emma was somewhat settled and the horse naturally followed in the wake of Snow, James and Henry's steeds.

Her thigh muscles ached from nervously clamping around the horse's sides, but it was still an enjoyable experience, Emma found. Henry couldn't help coaxing James into a race, and as long as he was having fun, that was all that really mattered in Emma's opinion.

* * *

**A timeline so you can hopefully avoid confusion:**

**Reunion (Chapter 2) – Same day as the breaking of the curse**

**Witch Hunt (Chapter 12) – Same Day as the breaking of the curse**

**Parents together (Chapter 6) – 1 day later**

**Wooden Man (Chapter 8) – 2 days later**

**The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 4) – 2 days later**

**A Bug's Life (Chapter 13) – 4 days later**

**Fathers (Chapter 14) – 6 days later**

**Bluebeard (Chapter 16) – 6 days later**

**Up Goes the Beanstalk (Chapter 7) – 1 week later**

**Hiking trip (Chapter 9) – 1 and ½ weeks later**

**Huntsman (Chapter 3) – 2 weeks later**

**Making Mischief (Chapter 15) – 3 weeks later**

**Only Just (Chapter 18) – 3 weeks later**

**Regina chapter (Chapter 17) – 3 and ½ weeks later**

**Storming (Chapter 1) – 1 month later**

**Dance with Somebody (Chapter 11) – 1 month later**

**Dreaming (Chapter 5) – 5 weeks later**

**A Fairy Mystery (Chapter 10) – 5 weeks later**

**Part 1: A Grand Day Out (Chapter 20) - 3 months later  
**

**Part 2: Date Night (Chapter 21) - 3 months later  
**

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**A/N: Originally this was going to all be one chapter, but it was getting way too long, so I've split the last chapter into two parts. I hope you won't mind. Also, quick apologies for the wait for this chapter. I've been going through some tough personal stuff and I just lost all motivation, including my motivation to write. This isn't the only story that had suffered. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this. One more chapter to come. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! **


	21. Part 2: Date Night

**A/N: Right, apologies again for abandoning this story. (Seems like all I ever do is apologise in these ANs!) I have my excuses, but they're a bit personal and I'm sure all you guys really want to do is read the chapter and see how this story ends, so I'm just gonna shut up and let you get on.**

* * *

After walking through the door, Emma didn't even pause to shuck off her jacket or take off her boots. Instead, she simply crossed the room and threw herself down on the couch, completely exhausted after chasing Henry around and riding a horse for the first time. It didn't look like it took a lot of effort when you saw someone else doing it, but the constant movement had really taken its toll on Emma.

"I'm making cocoa," Snow called from the kitchen. "Anybody else want one?"

Emma nodded wearily, hoping her mother would spot the gesture.

"So that's one for me and one for Emma. How about you, Henry?"

The young boy nodded enthusiastically and jumped up onto a stool at the island in the kitchen to wait, the tiring day obviously having done nothing to diminish his energy. A soft smile graced Emma's features at both the sight of him practically bouncing in his seat and the fact that she would soon be getting some sweet, warm caffeinated goodness, as long as she didn't fall asleep first that was. The battle to keep her eyes open was getting tough, and it came as quite a shock when Snow placed a mug filled with cocoa, topped with a swirl of whipped cream (dusted with cinnamon, of course) and a small mountain of marshmallows.

"Thanks," she yawned, sitting and stretching.

"You look like you need it," Snow said in reply, smoothing Emma's hair as she made her way back into the kitchen, standing on her tiptoes to reach into one of the cupboards and retrieve a tin containing cupcakes.

Henry grinned at her with whipped cream on the tip of his nose as she set one before him.

"Emma?"

Emma turned at the sound of her mother calling her name, not quite realising that Snow was offering her a blue-frosted cupcake as she caught sight of Henry and snorted uncontrollably into her own cocoa.

"What?" Henry asked through a mouthful of his own cupcake.

"Come here, Kid," Emma sighed, setting her cocoa back down on a coaster on the coffee table, and pushing herself up off the couch. Henry slid off his stool and warily walked towards his mother, confused about why he had to so. As soon as he was within reach, Emma wiped the cream from his nose and held her finger up for him to examine before licking it clean.

"Hey, that was mine," Henry complained.

"You've got a whole mugful right here," Snow reminded him. "And you've already had a second squirt of cream."

Still sulking slightly, Henry returned to his cupcake and cocoa before it could get cold. After all, he didn't have long before Regina would be coming to collect him so he could spend the weekend with her.

"Here, Kid," Emma said, depositing what was left of her cocoa in front of him. "Think you can finish mine?"

"You sure?"

"Graham'll be here any minute and I really need to take a shower," Emma answered, checking the silver watch on her wrist. It wasn't exactly a lie. Graham had told her he'd be back at five sharpish to pick her up for their dinner date, getting off from work early since James was covering for him, and it was already ten to. The Sheriff was notorious for being on time, if not early. Mostly though, Emma just couldn't bear the thought of Henry being in a bad mood with her. "Are you all packed for the weekend?"

Henry nodded, eagerly downing the contents of his cocoa before moving on to Emma's.

"Have a good time and tell me all about it on Sunday," she told him as she left the kitchen.

"Uh huh," Henry replied. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" Emma called over her shoulder.

After a five minute shower, Emma hurried to towel herself dry and find something in her closet to wear. She'd have preferred a longer shower that could have begun to unknot her tense muscles, but she was sure she could hear what sounded suspiciously like Graham sat at the kitchen table talking with Snow. If he'd made reservations for them, it wouldn't do to be running half an hour late.

She wasn't quite sure how she managed it, but just ten minutes later, Emma was walking down the stairs in a blue peplum dress and heels, with her hair blow-dried and teased back into an elegant ponytail and a matching clutch bag in her hand, her cell and purse already sealed inside.

Catching sight of her, Graham wolf-whistled appreciatively, causing a blush to spread like wildfire across Emma's cheeks despite the light layer of foundation covering them.

"Shut up," Emma mumbled embarrassedly, shooting a glance at Snow who was watching from where she was still sat at the kitchen table.

Snow sensibly hid her smile at the pair of them behind her mug and shook her head slightly. They were like teenagers sometimes. It was nice to see Emma so happy though. Feeling Emma staring at her, she took her cue to leave.

"I'd best be off if I'm going to catch Red as she leaves the diner," Snow announced, pausing only to grab her purple and black checked coat from the hooks by the front door before leaving. It seemed like the whole family was busy that evening – James had the night shift at the Sheriff's Station, Snow was going out on the town with Red and Ella (leaving poor Thomas to take care of the baby alone), Henry was enjoying the weekend with his adoptive mother and for Emma it was date night.

"We should probably go too, right?" Emma asked hesitantly after a moment's silence following her mother's abrupt departure.

"Right," Graham agreed, finally tearing his eyes from Emma's figure to make sure he didn't trip on his way to open the front door for her. "Don't want to keep dinner waiting."

As they made their way out of the apartment, Emma couldn't help asking. "So where are we going?" It wasn't often they did things like this, dates. They hadn't had a period where they were dating per se. The realisation that they were in a relationship just came naturally.

"It's a surprise, remember. Come on, it's this way," he said, nudging Emma and nodding his head in the opposite direction to her yellow bug and his patrol car.

"We're walking?" Emma clarified, shooting a glance at her heels.

"It's not far," Graham assured her, following her gaze down to her feet and then letting his eyes rove up her shapely legs and body. The action didn't go unnoticed. By the time his eyes had reached Emma's chest – and stayed there a good few moments – Emma's hand had come to rest on her hips and her eyebrows were lifting.

"See something you like?"

"Lots of things," Graham answered breathlessly. It was a solid minute before he continued, his eyes clearing of lust slightly. "But they'll have to wait till later. Dinner calls." Sweeping his arm out, he indicated Storybrooke Tea Rooms and Restaurant, the small tea shop by day and restaurant by night run by the March Hare.

Emma stepped forwards and led the way into the cosy restaurant, Graham following her after holding the door open.

"Good evening," the March Hare greeted. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Table for Humbert," Graham answered with a nod and a smile.

"Excellent, sir. If you'd like to follow me, I'll get you seated."

Emma and Graham, with his hand resting on Emma's waist, followed the March Hare through the restaurant, which was pleasantly only half-filled with a few other couples, to their table hidden away in one of the corners.

"Your menu, Ma'am. And yours, Sir."

"Thank you," Emma and Graham murmured at the same time, smiling at one another resultantly as they opened and inspected their menus.

"Would you care to order a bottle of wine?" the March Hare asked.

Graham looked to Emma for confirmation, before replying, "Yes, we'll take a bottle of your finest red."

The March Hare nodded and made a note before leaving to arrange for the wine's delivery.

"Graham, you didn't have t-"

"-But I wanted to," he said, cutting Emma off before she could complain about expense. "Order whatever you want. Price isn't an issue." Looking away from Emma's slightly awed expression, he turned back to him menu, trying to choose between the Mushroom Pappardelle with Gorgonzola Cream and the Confit Duck with Red Cabbage. "Do you know what you'd like to eat?"

Emma shrugged. The menu was awfully elegant. She'd never eaten lobster let alone eaten Mango, Lobster and Ginger soup. Usually, she had a simple pasta dish when she went to a restaurant. The idea of having something so classy kind of thrilled her, though at the same time she couldn't help feeling guilty over the charge Graham's credit card was going to receive. How he could afford such a place, she didn't know.

When the waiter arrived with their wine, he asked if they were ready to order.

Graham nodded, and told the waiter he would like the Parma ham-wrapped asparagus spears with hollandaise dipping sauce as his starter.

"And for the lady?" the waiter asked.

Emma's mind went blank, not that she'd ever really decided what she wanted to eat anyway. She said the first thing that came into her mind: the Mango, Lobster and Ginger soup.

"How about main courses?"

"I'll have the Confit Duck with Red Cabbage, please," Graham replied. "Emma?"

This time Emma scanned the menu first, looking for something she knew she'd like. "Lemon and Thyme Chicken with Dauphinoise Potatoes, please."

The waiter nodded, wrote down their orders on his pad of paper and took their menus with him as he left.

Graham smiled nervously at Emma as she took a sip of wine.

She returned it, feeling equally jittery herself for some unknown reason.

It didn't take long for their starters to arrive and Graham tucked in with gusto. Emma was more reserved with her lobster and cautiously raised a spoonful of the soup level with her lips. She needn't have worried; it was easily the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, even better than Granny's bear claws that Graham so frequently brought her.

They didn't talk much whilst they ate, but as they waited for the main course, Emma found herself asking if Graham had been to the restaurant before.

"Emma, it only opened a month ago."

"Oh," she replied, surprised she hadn't heard that news.

He chuckled at her, only laughing harder as she affixed him with a look of slight irriation.

When he'd finished, she asked another question. "What made you want to come?"

"The March Hare owes me a favour after I didn't book him for speeding the other week. He said he'd give me a ten per cent discount," Graham answered, but Emma had a niggling doubt that he hadn't told her the whole story. But she didn't get a chance to ask him what the rest of the story was as their mains arrived then. "Smells delicious."

"Duck?"

"That's me," Graham answered.

"So the Chicken must be for the lady," the waiter replied, sliding the remaining plate onto the table in front of Emma, who closed her eyes in anticipation from the sumptuous odours rising from it.

Graham cut a piece of duck, slathered it with red cabbage and shovelled it into his mouth before moaning in pleasure.

"You have to try this," he declared, spearing another piece and proceeding to feed it to Emma across the table, completely oblivious to her shock. That was exactly what a real couple did, wasn't it?

After chewing and swallowing, she had to admit it was pretty good. "Want a bite of mine?"

Graham nodded and leaned forwards to allow Emma to feed him.

"It's good," he agreed, savouring the taste of citrus after the sweet tang of his own red cabbage.

Emma couldn't help feeling hot in the restaurant. Feeding each other? It was all very flirtatious, wasn't it? And totally unlike her. How Graham managed to bring the behaviour out of her was almost magic.

Scraping the last of the food off her plate, Emma didn't think she'd ever felt so stuffed and leaned back in her chair.

"Okay?" Graham asked, reclining back a bit himself.

Emma nodded, grinning at the thought that slouched as they were; they probably didn't look as if they belonged in such an upmarket restaurant, even if they were both dressed to the nines, Graham looking dapper in a navy blue suit jacket, with his white shirt tucked into his trousers.

"Would you care to see the dessert menu?" the waiter asked as he took their plates and balanced them on his arms.

Graham looked to Emma. Emma looked to Graham.

"We'll take a look," Graham finally decided, unable to resist the lure of pudding.

The waiter nodded, was gone about a minute, and returned with a chalkboard bearing the desserts on offer that evening.

"What do you say, Emma, share a sundae?" Graham asked.

"Sure," Emma replied, though she was sure she wouldn't be able to manage much more than a single spoonful of ice cream.

"Chocolate okay?"

Emma nodded.

"One chocolate sundae, two spoons," Graham ordered.

"Right away, Sir."

Graham smiled awkwardly at Emma, the quiet between them somehow comfortable yet awkward at the same time. Both of them were desperately trying to think of something to say. When the sundae arrived, instead of making things better as they'd hoped, it only seemed to heighten the sexual tension between them, as they had to lean forwards and practically bump heads in order to dig into the mixture of ice cream, chocolate sauce, brownies and chopped nuts.

Emma had two spoonfuls then let Graham finish the sundae whilst she went to the ladies room to freshen up. When she returned, he'd settled the bill and was just waiting for her before they left. Emma smiled, noticing how his lips tightened without seeming to convey any happiness. Scrutinising him, he actually looked a bit sick, as if he regretted having most of the sundae to himself.

They stepped out onto the street, and Emma shivered at the sudden temperature change. Wordlessly, Graham removed his suit jacket and placed it around Emma's shoulders before taking her hand. As they walked back to the apartment, Emma found herself tucked into Graham's side and laid her head on his shoulder, the tiredness she'd felt earlier returning tenfold now that she was full too.

"Long day?" he asked, as she yawned for the second time on the short walk.

"You could say that," she mumbled.

"Well, it won't be much longer till you can go to bed," he promised, feeling his heartbeat race again.

Back at the apartment, Emma locked the front door, not sure what time Snow would be back or if she would be back at all, and toed off her heels. Graham paced into the kitchen and filled a glass with water, gulping it down like it was a lifeline.

"I'm gonna head up to bed," Emma told him. "Coming?"

Graham shook his head. "I'll be up in a bit." He needed some time first.

"Okay," Emma said, pressing a short kiss to his lips before leaving him and climbing the stairs to her bedroom.

With her gone, Graham sighed, releasing the breath he'd been holding and let his body go slack. He was so tense with nerves. He'd been battling to keep them under control all evening. His hand slapped his leg a few times, clapping against his wallet, as he mustered his courage to follow his girlfriend up the stairs. When he got to the top, he was quite surprised, since he hadn't been aware of taking the initial steps upwards. Likewise, when he pushed open Emma's bedroom door, he looked around in shock for a split second, confused about where he was before recognising the dresser and some of his clothes over the back of the chair and Emma lying in the bed.

"Emma," he whispered.

"What?" she replied drowsily, not even lifting her head off the pillow.

Graham smiled and crossed the room until he was kneeling beside the bed, right next to her head.

"I've got a question for you," he said, not knowing where all of it was coming from. His hand was reaching unbidden for his wallet and flipping it open, searching through the cash for the small metal object.

"What?" Emma asked again, still not opening her eyes or moving.

Graham took a breath. "Will you marry me?" It didn't come out in a rush. But nor was it the most eloquent thing he'd said. His voice quaked on every word as his emotions threatened to overtake him.

_That_ got Emma's attention. Her eyes opened and her head shot up off the pillow.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

Graham half-laughed at how often she was saying that before repeating his question. "I said will you marry me?"

"Graham-" She broke off and ran a hand through her hair, still not really believing what was happening. It felt too much like a dream.

He held up the ring, trying not to look crushed as she drew out the whole thing. For a horrid moment he was convinced she'd say no.

But the sight of the ring seemed to convince Emma that it was real and she could stop her eyes watering as she said yes. Any walls she'd had when she first came to Storybrooke were long gone, broken down by Mary and Henry, then by Snow, James and Graham.

Graham let out a shaky breath and slid the ring onto Emma's finger before taking her chin in his fingers and using it to pull her towards his lips.

Emma's hands took hold of his shirt collar, pulling him up and onto the bed. As he kissed her everywhere, on her lips, her jaw, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her neck, everywhere, Emma didn't think she'd ever been happier. And, she found herself thinking with some irony, it was all because of magic. Without magic, she would never have gotten Graham back. Perhaps the stuff wasn't so bad after all.

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**A/N: Like I said in the last chapter, I really am grateful for all the input I've had from you guys. I'm glad you enjoyed reading this story and I hope you liked this chapter as much as the rest, if not more.I'm just sorry for being lousy at updating regularly.  
**

**Thanks. SabreDae**


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